The Blood of Kings
by SilvorMoon
Summary: Fantasy AU. Being king is hard work. Jack is doing his best to rule his war-torn kingdom while dealing with his upcoming marriage and the uprising of a mysterious cult. More than one person wants him dead, but only one is trying to kill him...
1. Guests Arrive

**Guests Arrive**

**By: SilvorMoon**

It was unusually busy in the marketplace that morning. Carly held her spectacles in place with one hand as she fought her way through the crowd, dodging elbows and stray livestock and people carrying too many things to see where they were going. This was one reason why she was glad she lived outside of the town, away from all this noise and stink. Still, things seemed a lot more hectic than usual today. She wondered what the fuss was, but there was so much noise that she couldn't make out any individual conversation enough to get an idea what anyone was talking about.

Fortunately, she would be able to get a moment of peace and quiet once she reached her destination. Shifting the bag she carried so that it rested more comfortably on her shoulder, she forged onward into the heart of the village. She rounded a corner and gave a yelp as someone reached out to grab her arm.

"Get _off_ me!" she shouted, flailing.

"Repent!" boomed the man, still gripping her elbow. He was dressed in a long red robe with a hood, from which a beaky nose and a scruffy brown beard projected. "The day is coming when the Crimson Goddess shall emerge from her temple to purify the land! Repent, before it is too late!"

"I'm fine, thanks," said Carly, finally managing to shake him off. She began hurrying up the road again. She could still hear him shouting to her - or maybe to the other passers-by - to renounce their wicked ways and sacrifice their material possessions to appease the Crimson Goddess.

"Where did these guys come from, anyway?" she muttered as she trudged along. She couldn't remember there being so many of them before. The whole Crimson Goddess thing seemed to have sprung up practically overnight - one day, no one had ever heard of her, and the next day, there was a red-robed acolyte on every street corner, preaching to the masses. The Goddess herself was a bit more elusive, but from what Carly had gathered, she was a goddess of life and healing, and would perform miracles for those who made the right gestures of faith. Since the right gestures were usually expensive, Carly had chosen to do without miracles.

In the most well-to-do section of town, there was a bookshop. Carly spotted its sign with relief and picked up her pace. The crowds were a bit easier to manage here - not much less thick, but they were standing still in gossipy groups instead of pelting about in every direction. She actually managed to pick up a few words as she passed.

"...very beautiful, at least."

"I heard her father..."

"...a party? You'd think he'd have better things to do with his..."

"It's for the good of the kingdom. He couldn't have made a better..."

Under ordinary circumstances, Carly might have stopped to eavesdrop a little more. She had a healthy curiosity, and while she never would have thought of herself as being someone who spread gossip, she liked to be in the know and would happily pass on any information she learned that might be interesting or useful to someone. Living on her own as she did, she didn't often get the chance to catch up on what the townsfolk were up to. It was only the weight of the sack she was carrying that convinced her that she needed to finish her errand before indulging her curiosity. She reluctantly continued on her way to the bookseller's shop.

A bell overhead rang as she pushed her way inside, and the store's owner looked up from his desk with a smile.

"Ah, Carly," he said. "So pleased to see you. I wasn't expecting you until next week."

"I finished early," she said as she swung her bag onto the counter. "All that rain last week. I couldn't get outside, so I stayed in and worked."

The bookseller untied the sack and carefully extracted a pile of books. A few of them were originals, but most of them were Carly's work - copies she had made carefully by hand. While there were a few places that were experimenting with machines that would print books mechanically, most people of wealth and taste preferred books that had been hand-lettered. Carly was an odd choice for the job, since common-born women weren't even expected to read a great deal, but her father had done the job before her and she had picked it up from him. She didn't have the artistic skills to do the beautiful illuminations you could find on some books, but she could write in a fair hand and no one would ever notice that it hadn't been written by a man. She liked the work; it meant she got to read things. One reason why her eyes were so weak was that she had spent most of her life poring over books.

"A beautiful job as always," said the bookseller. "My clients will be pleased. Here you go." He counted a handful of coins into Carly's hands.

"So, what's going on today?" she asked, as she made the money vanish into a pocket. "Why is everyone so worked up?"

"You haven't heard? No, I guess you wouldn't have," the bookseller replied. "The word is that the King is engaged."

"Wow, that _is_ news," said Carly, suitably impressed. "To who?"

"The daughter of a lord from one of the conquered territories," the bookseller replied. "Something to secure our ties to them. I hear she is quite a lovely young woman, though..."

Carly nodded. She found herself wishing that she could be there to see the wedding celebrations. Though her village wasn't far from the capital city, she had never had any need to go there herself, and had never even set eyes on the young king. Most of the time she was happy minding her house and weeding her garden and copying books, but now it struck her that it might be nice to see the castle and the king and his beautiful bride...

She shook her head. Nobody was going to let a drab little bookworm like her anywhere near the king's festivities. It was nice to dream, though.

"Do you have any new orders for me?" she asked.

"Of course," said the bookseller, and retreated to the back of the building.

He returned a few minutes later with a stack of books and a list of how many copies of each were needed. Carly accepted them all and packed them up neatly in her bag. At least now, she thought as she began the walk home, she would have something interesting to think about while she worked. She wasn't even sure she could imagine what a royal wedding would be like. She could barely imagine being married herself, in one of the informal ceremonies they held in the village, where festivity meant putting on your best clothes and hanging up some flowers, and putting out a good meal for all your friends afterwards. She didn't think she was bad-looking, and she was good enough at cooking and mending clothes and the other things that a housewife was expected to know, but she'd never had any prospects. Not many people seemed inclined to marry a girl who spent most of her time crouched over a desk and trying not to spill ink on something important.

On the street corner, the man in the red robe was still exhorting everyone who passed him to come to the Crimson Goddess and be purified.

"Renounce your selfish love of material objects!" he bellowed. "The miracles of the Crimson Goddess come only to those who are willing to worship her with pure hearts! Come to her, and she will answer your prayers!"

_One of these days, I'm going to go see what that Goddess business is all about,_ Carly thought. _It would be kind of nice to have a miracle..._

* * *

Jack had holed himself up in the library. It wasn't ordinarily a place where he would have spent much time, unless it was absolutely necessary, but it seemed to be the best option. Ordinarily he would have gone to the training yard if he wanted to blow off steam, but that was the first place anyone would look for him. Here, at least, it was quiet. Unlike most of the castle, the library didn't require a great deal of preparation for the upcoming wedding. It also had plenty of room to move, so Jack walked restlessly up and down the aisles.

"Well, you look happy."

Jack spun, glaring, to face the new arrival, and relaxed only marginally when he saw that it was just Crow. The young guardsman had a knack for finding things that other people missed, and that apparently included Jack.

"I'm fine," Jack snapped.

"Sure. You sound great," said Crow. "Come on, lighten up! It's not as if the girl's a cow or something."

"So they say. I've never set eyes on her," said Jack

Crow laughed. "Now you're just being contrary."

"Look, I don't care if she's the most beautiful woman in the world. I have more important things to do," said Jack. "Of all the ridiculous time-wasting schemes..."

"Relax," said Crow. "The kingdom isn't going to fall apart because you took a week off to get married."

"I shouldn't have to do it at all," Jack complained. "Look around! We're lucky this kingdom isn't still in the middle of a civil war."

"So maybe people want to forget all that and have a little fun," said Crow. "Come on, be a sport."

"That's easy for you to say. You aren't the one getting married."

Crow just laughed. "Okay, maybe so. Maybe instead of moping around, you ought to be enjoying your final days of bachelorhood. You ought to come riding with Yusei and Kiryu and me later. It'll clear your head."

Jack made a noncommittal noise. Crow just grinned.

"Think about it," he said. "Anyway, your advisor is looking for you. Should I tell him where you are or tell him you went somewhere else?"

"Don't tell him anything," said Jack. "I'll sort him out myself."

"Your choice," said Crow with a shrug. "But seriously, any time you need us..."

He didn't finish that sentence, but he didn't need to. Jack had known him for years, and they understood each other better than Jack liked to admit at times. He, Crow, Yusei, and Kiryu had all trained for knighthood together before Jack had attained his majority and become king, and while his three closest friends were now technically his subordinates, they still had a measure of familiarity with him that no one else did. It could be annoying at times.

After Crow had gone, Jack pondered a moment before deciding that if his advisor was looking for him, it was probably a good idea to be found. He had never really liked, or even particularly trusted the man, but Jack knew full well that Rex Goodwin was not to be trifled with. Years ago, when the old king had died during the war and the months-old prince had vanished without a trace, it had been Goodwin who had taken on the gargantuan task of keeping the kingdom functioning in the absence of its ruler. He had been the one to trace the bloodlines and prove that Jack was the next legitimate heir, and had served as regent until Jack had attained his majority at the age of sixteen and could assume the throne himself. It had been on his advice that Jack had weathered the after math of the great civil war and the subsequent smaller uprisings and attacks from bordering kingdoms, as they tried to take advantage of the kingdom's perilous state. Even now, Goodwin continued to supply his guidance.

He found Goodwin in his office, going over some papers. He barely glanced up as Jack entered the room.

"Highness," he greeted.

"You were looking for me," said Jack.

"I am merely concerned for your well-being," said Goodwin smoothly. "You have been withdrawn, as of late."

"You already know why."

"We've been over this before. Lady Mikage is a lovely young woman and possessed of a gentle and pliant nature. She will be no trouble to you."

"That is not the problem," said Jack.

"No," said Goodwin placidly. "The problem is that you feel that this is a waste of time and resources. This is understandable. You have always been clever with matters of war and strategy, but you have yet to master diplomacy. Lady Mikage's father was the ruler of one of the lands that were conquered during the most recent uprising, and his people still feel some resentment to the throne. Marrying her will help to ensure that her people will remain peaceful. You know perfectly well how fragile our peace is now. I should think anything that would preserve it would meet with your approval."

"Well, it doesn't," said Jack. "I never said I wanted to get married to anyone."

"It is not a matter of what you want, Your Highness. It is a matter of what is best for your people. I worked very hard to arrange a good match for you. I assure you, the other options were _much_ worse. Beautiful princesses are not as easy to come by as one might think. Besides, you remember what happened when the old king died unexpectedly and there were no heirs close at hand. Do you want that to happen again?"

"There was an heir. He just went missing," Jack muttered, but his heart wasn't really in it. He knew Goodwin was right - he _should_ have been picking out a suitable bride as soon as he'd gotten himself situated on the throne, and been thinking about heirs. He just didn't _want_ to.

"My brother and I will take every measure possible to see that this does not happen again," said Goodwin, "but perhaps you had better worry about producing an heir before you worry about protecting it. First things first."

"You have a glib answer to everything," Jack snarled.

Goodwin, as always, was unruffled. "Lady Mikage will be here in three days. Will you offend her family by sending her away?"

"I," said Jack, "am going outside."

He turned on his heel and swept out of the room, not waiting to see how Goodwin would react. He knew what it would be anyway - a bow and a bland look that wouldn't quite hide his smugness at having worked Jack around to his plans once again.

_Sometimes I wonder which of us is really the king here,_ Jack thought sourly. Oh, he knew that if he simply put his foot down and demanded that the whole thing be called off, and Goodwin would find some excuse to send this Lady Mikage back where she came from, and the whole wedding thing would probably never be mentioned again. It was just that it wouldn't be the end of it, because somehow, Goodwin would turn out to be right - someone would get offended and the people of the newly annexed lands would take it as an excuse to revolt, and probably Jack would end up losing his hard-earned throne, and there would be no immediately available heir, and everything would go to pieces. And then he would just have to listen to Goodwin saying, "I told you so." Even if it didn't get that bad, putting up with Goodwin's insufferable you-should-have-listened-to-me manner would be punishment enough. Most of the time it was better just to let him have his way.

He wasn't sure that this time it was going to be better.

Jack made his way to the training grounds, and was not surprised to find that they were already in use. Crow, Yusei, and Kiryu, who together comprised the elite royal guard, were working out with wooden practice swords, hacking at each other with an enthusiasm that might have convinced an outsider that they were really trying to kill each other, save for the grins on their faces. Jack watched a while as he idly picked up a spare sword and turned it over a few times in his hands, getting a feel for it. All the practice swords were much abused and most of them wobbled on their hilts or were completely out of balance, but for Jack, that was never a problem.

In a sudden lunge, Jack sprinted across the yard and straight into the center of the melee. Before anyone knew what hit them, Crow had been thrown off his feet, Kiryu disarmed, and Yusei was caught with his sword locked against Jack's. The two of them stood braced against each other for a few seconds, glaring into each other's eyes, before Yusei relaxed and let Jack push him away. He grinned.

"I saw you coming," he said.

"And yet you're still not fast enough to stop me," said Jack. He smiled. Fighting with Yusei always put him in a better mood.

"You're still the best out of all of us, no question," said Crow, as he hauled himself to his feet. "The only reason you still train with us is you like seeing us get knocked back on our asses."

"I have to train with someone," said Jack. "You three aren't much, but you're the best I've got."

"One of these days, Yusei is going to beat you," Kiryu opined.

Yusei laughed. "I have a long way to go. But you're right - I'll get there."

"Hmph. Not likely," said Jack.

This sort of posing and banter could easily go on the rest of the day, provided they weren't interrupted. It had been going on for the past eighteen years or so, so the odds were that it would continue indefinitely. Jack and Yusei had, in fact, known each other nearly since they'd been born. Jack had begun his life inside the palace, the offspring of a lord who had perished during the wars. Yusei was the offspring of a minor noble, and had turned up in the rubble of a manor house that had been razed in the fighting. He'd been turned over to the same nursemaid who had been taking care of Jack, and the two of them had been together ever since. Crow and Kiryu were likewise war orphans who had started out as pages and quickly worked their way up the ranks - Kiryu beginning as a member of the minor nobility, and Crow as an ex-thief who had devoted himself to the king out of gratitude for pardoning him. Jack trusted them more than he trusted anyone else, particularly the people who were supposed to be his advisors.

"So, how are the plans for the wedding coming along?" asked Kiryu. "Have you killed your advisor yet? I know a few good places to hide the body."

"Don't tempt me," said Jack.

"You need a break," said Crow. "I told you before, we should all just go riding and forget about all this for a while. Who knows when our next chance will be?"

Jack thought about that for a moment, then nodded. "Fine."

"Great!" said Crow. He began sprinting toward the stables. "Race you!"

The others just looked at each other.

"Should we?" asked Yusei.

"Let's let him enjoy it," Kiryu replied.

Together, the three of them walked at their leisure out of the yard.

* * *

Three days later, the lady herself arrived with a number of servants, ladies in waiting, and at least one very grumpy bodyguard. He looked like a very effective bodyguard, standing comfortably above six feet tall and proportionately broad, with a scowling scarred face. He appeared to have taken an instant dislike to Jack, and also appeared to be permanently glued to Lady Mikage. He glared at everyone who got within hailing distance of her, and since Jack was required to be near her as often as he possibly could, he had to bear being glared at a great deal.

But for now, he was safe. A grand feast had been spread out in honor of the king's betrothed, and for the moment, at least, everyone had settled in to enjoy the food and drink. Jack himself was seated at the head of the table with Mikage at his right hand. He had been prepared to dislike her on sight. She had, in fact, turned out to be exactly as described. She was quite pretty - not glamorous, but with a wholesome, fresh-faced radiance about her. Her manners were flawless. She never made a move that was not graceful. She rarely spoke except when spoken to, but when she did speak, it was in a sweet, pleasant voice. At the moment, she was listening attentively to the conversation flowing around her, occasionally putting in a remark or polite question. Much to his surprise, she was well-spoken on a variety of topics, including several that he wouldn't have expected a lady to be familiar with.

Jack didn't like her anyway. He had a sneaking suspicion that she probably had all the strength of will of a stick of butter. Already she was showing a distressing inclination to agree with everything he said and to stare at him adoringly whenever he addressed her. Her company would have been agreeable enough for an evening, but he wasn't sure he could tolerate her as a wife. She was better suited to be the bride of some minor lord, where her responsibilities would be limited to acting as hostess to guests, overseeing the household accounts, and being companionable to her husband. As a queen, she would be miscast - the stresses of co-ruling a fragile kingdom would be too much for her.

_Damned if I do, damned if I don't,_ Jack thought, trying not to let his irritation show on his face. The last thing he needed was for a roomful of people to see him being rude to his bride-to-be.

But at least he wasn't having to deal with her bodyguard. Jack had taken the precaution of seating the man as far away as he possibly could, away at the table where the soldiers were fed. He was making the most of the situation, eating a great deal and drinking a great deal more. The feast hadn't been going on very long, and already the man was visibly drunk.

_What sort of bodyguard behaves that way?_ If any of Jack's guards were caught drunk while on duty, they would have been dismissed instantly. Jack frowned and made a gesture, and instantly Yusei was at his side.

"Let me guess," he said.

"I would rather not have an incident," Jack replied.

Yusei nodded and slipped away again. A moment later, he appeared as if by magic next to the unruly guard and gently coaxed him away from the table. He seemed to be complaining about something, though Jack was too far away to hear what he was saying. Mikage bowed her head, looking embarrassed.

"I'm sorry," she said. "He usually doesn't behave that way."

"Probably just getting carried away with the celebration," said Jack, who didn't believe any such thing. Still, it seemed to soothe her.

"He always was most enthusiastic," she said, "and this is a time for celebration."

She looked hopefully at him, and Jack found he had to avert his gaze.

The whole thing was, in fact, quite embarrassing, and Jack was relieved when the meal was finally over and he could escape back to his room. There was entertainment planned for after the meal, but he announced, truthfully, that he had a headache and wanted to go lie down.

"Need someone to walk with you?" Kiryu asked him quietly. "There are a lot of strangers in the castle tonight."

"I'm fine," said Jack curtly. "I want to be left alone."

Kiryu nodded and backed down. Jack was glad. The last thing he wanted after this day of annoyances was to get into a fight with his own guards.

It was a relief to be away from the hot, crowded, noisy banquet hall. As soon as Jack was well away from the crowd, he slowed his steps and took a few deep breaths of the comparatively cool air, letting it calm his nerves. He was, he thought, going to go crazy if he had to put up with much more of this, and the wedding wasn't slated to happen for another two weeks. Two weeks of trying to be diplomatic, of making dutiful small talk, of avoiding suspicious guards...

Speaking of which, he could hear a small commotion coming from the hall ahead of him. Someone was shuffling unsteadily down the passage, occasionally tripping and blundering into things. There was a heavy _thud_ as they fell to the floor, or perhaps ran into a wall, and a good deal of cursing as they picked themselves up again. Jack sighed heavily and went to have a look at the problem.

It was, of course, the surly bodyguard. He seemed to have regained his footing somewhat, but his feet were planted the wrong way around, and he was having some difficulty untangling them.

"I thought I sent you to your room," said Jack.

The guard glared at him.

"I don't take orders from you," he slurred. "I only work for Mikage. Not you. Her."

"Fine," said Jack. "I'll go find her and _she_ can send you to your room."

It was the wrong thing to say. The man's face twisted in fury, and he took a staggering step in Jack's direction.

"You keep your hands off her," he growled.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Keep your filthy hands off! Just stay away from her. Don't touch her." The guard lurched closer, so that Jack could smell the wine on his breath. "You're not good enough for her."

"Funny, I feel the same way about her."

Jack watched the guardsman's face twist in confusion as he tried to work out what that meant. Then he snarled with fury and slammed Jack against the wall. Jack watched levelly as the guard loomed over him, breathing heavily.

"Don't you ever speak like that about her," he growled. "If you don't keep away from her, I swear I'll kill you! I'll break your neck!"

Jack did not reply. Very calmly, he pushed two fingers against the man's forehead, tipping his head back, and the rest of him tipped along with it. He staggered a few paces backwards and ran into the wall. The guard stood there for a moment, feeling at the wall and looking vaguely confused. He turned himself over; Jack got the impression he thought he had landed on the floor and was trying to get up again. Sure enough, the guard pushed firmly against the wall and looked honestly surprised when he tipped over again. This time he did land very hard on the carpet and looked around dazedly.

"How'd you do that?" he demanded.

Jack just rolled his eyes.

"You're drunk," he said. "Give it up, go back to your room and sleep it off."

"Not until I'm done with you!"

"Hey, what's going on here?"

Crow came around the corner and sized up the situation.

"Hey," he said. "You haven't been fighting, have you?"

"If you can call being threatened by a drunken lout _fighting_," said Jack disdainfully. "Deal with it, would you?"

Crow nodded. He'd always been rather good at dealing with unruly drunks; his easygoing manner combined with surprisingly strong muscles was generally an effective combination. He sauntered over to the guard, who was still trying to work out which way was up so he could stand.

"Up you go," he said, hauling on his arm. "One too many, huh, buddy? You're gonna feel this in the morning, I'm tellin' you. Take it from me, it's just not worth it. Come on, let's get you back to your room and I'll get you a drink of water..."

With a few careful nudges and a constant stream of encouragement, Crow was able to ease the drunken soldier back to his barracks. Jack rubbed at his temples.

"This is going to be a long week," he said.

* * *

"It isn't going to work, you know."

Rex Goodwin gave his brother a mildly curious look, but otherwise declined to comment on the remark that Rudger had just made. The court wizard was not known for his optimistic and cheerful attitude, and while Rex had learned to cover his true feelings with a veneer of civility, he usually agreed with his brother. Now he only settled himself onto a stool - one of the few in Rudger's workshop that wasn't piled with the tools of his trade, and took a sip from the wineglass he was holding. Rudger scowled at him.

"Aren't you listening to me?" he grumbled.

"You have my undivided attention," Rex assured him. "I was merely waiting for you to elaborate on your point."

"Don't get diplomatic on me," said Rudger. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Weren't you paying attention? He's known that girl less than a day and already he can't stand her."

"It doesn't matter whether he likes her or not," said Rex. "He merely has to agree to marry her. She's already in love with him, by the look of things. He'll do what he has to for the good of the kingdom, and once he's gotten an heir by her, nothing else will make any difference. We can afford to wait another year."

"You sound awfully confident," Rudger grumbled. "It's not going to be that simple, little brother. Just _look_ at this."

Rex obligingly walked over to the table where Rudger was working. He had in front of him a wooden board with a number of silver pins stuck in it, with a thin white thread stretched back and forth between them, forming a web.

"Why must it always be spiders with you?" asked Rex.

"Spiders are useful," said Rudger, in the tones of someone who has answered this question before. "Look! Just look at his fatelines. Do you see how tangled they are? Every one of these threads is the life of someone of significant importance to him - someone who could redirect the course of his life. Do you really think you can control them all?"

"That depends entirely on who they belong to."

"You. Me. His elite guards. His fiancee and her guard," said Rudger. "That and a number of quantities as yet unknown."

"Hm," said Rex thoughtfully. "The known quantities, I believe we can deal with. As for the others... I think I will have to arrange a backup plan, just in case."

"Better that than letting all your work go to waste," Rudger agreed.

Rex nodded. Really, things had been so much simpler before Jack had reached his majority and could start doing things for himself. It was only the stupid masses who insisted on having a king who had some connection to royal blood, no matter how tenuous it was. It was a ridiculous system, and Goodwin firmly believed that the person who ruled the kingdom should be the one who was best suited to rule, regardless of his parentage. The only way a common-born man like Rex could rule the kingdom was by acting as regent. As long as Jack had been considered a child, it had been fine. When Jack had a child of his own, then Jack would no longer be necessary. His gentle, weak-willed bride could hardly be expected to control the kingdom herself, and it would be another sixteen years before the new heir would be ready to take his father's place. Of course, there was a small matter of taking Jack out of the picture, but surely that could be arranged. There were plenty of ways a hot-blooded young man could get himself accidentally killed...

"If you will do me the favor of learning what you can about the rest of those fatelines, I will be most grateful," Rex said.

"Only for you," said Rudger. "It will take some time. They aren't all located anywhere near here."

"We can afford to wait," Rex replied. "If they are far from here, I doubt they can be affecting him directly yet... unless they are plotting some sort of revolution, in which case they may just solve our problems for us."

"I'll find them. Leave it to me."

Rudger dragged himself to his feet and walked over to a shelf containing a vast array of boxes, papers, bottles, and other miscellaneous magical trinkets. He removed a small wooden container, almost like a jewelry box, and opened the lid. There were seven spiders inside, each the size of Rudger's thumbnail and each a different color. He carried the box to the window and gently tipped the spiders onto the ledge. They scuttled along the windowsill, their legs making tiny clicking noises as they moved, their jewel-toned bodies glittering in the moonlight. Rudger leaned over and whispered to them. They stood perfectly still until he had finished, and then scampered off in a blur of legs, disappearing into the night.

"There, that's done it," said Rudger. "Give them time, and they'll find everyone."

Rex nodded. "Thank you, Brother. I can always count on you."

"You're not the only one who would rather see anyone than that trumped-up kid on the throne."

Rex smiled, pleased by his brother's loyalty. With his help, dealing with Jack would be nothing more than a minor annoyance. All they needed was time.

* * *

So far, it had not been a good morning.

Ushio stood stiffly at attention, doing his best to look as though everything was normal. The actuality was that he was feeling anything but normal - he felt, in fact, not so much hung over as already fallen in. It had been a while since he'd gotten himself well and truly drunk beyond reason, and now he was paying the price for it. Nevertheless, he did his best to keep his discomfort to himself. He was going to man his post and do what was asked of him, even if the effort was enough to make his head feel ready to split open.

No one was paying attention to him, anyway. There was no one in the room but the king, Mikage, and a couple of servants hovering discreetly nearby. They weren't paying attention to anyone but the king and the lady, and those two weren't paying any attention to anyone but each other. They spoke quietly, so that Ushio couldn't hear every word they were saying, but he got the impression that they were discussing plans for the upcoming wedding. They did make a beautiful couple, sitting together that way, their heads bowed towards each other and their knees nearly touching. Jack was dressed in nearly pure white, and the morning sunlight shone on his golden hair, making him gleam like some sort of heavenly being. Mikage wore a simple blue dress with only a few strands of pearls for ornamentation, but the way it fitted her flawless body transformed it into the most beautiful garment ever worn. Ushio sighed. He couldn't deny that they made a perfect couple. They were so perfect that he wanted to push his fist into Jack's face. Maybe if he had a broken nose and a few missing teeth and two black eyes, Mikage wouldn't look at Jack quite so adoringly.

_Not like she'd ever look at me like that,_ he thought, with malaise that wasn't completely the result of his hangover.

After all, Mikage was a lady. His family was respectable, but they were no more than unlanded knights, barely better than a commoner. He had been given the job of guarding her because he was an adequate fighter but not so good that he couldn't be spared from active duty, so there wasn't much chance that he'd ever win enough honor and glory to rise in rank. The best he could hope for would be to be allowed to stay here with her and continue watching over her. Which was worse - to be sent away from her forever, or to stay here and watch her being happy with someone else?

Pushing Jack's face in sounded like the best option, far and away. Too bad it would lead to difficulties later on.

Mercifully, the peaceful scene was interrupted by a messenger.

"Your Majesty," he said, "there's someone here demanding to speak to you."

"Nobody _demands_ to speak to the king," said Jack coldly.

"This one does," the servant replied. "He says he's been sent by the Crimson Goddess herself. He says not even a king outranks a goddess."

"I don't believe in their goddess," said Jack irritably.

"But this man does, and he won't go away until you speak to him," the servant replied. "Please, your highness. He's making people nervous."

"Oh, fine, then," said Jack. He stood up and stalked out of the room, radiating irritation. He swept past Ushio without appearing to see him and slammed the door behind him. Ushio winced; that sound had been far too loud and far too close to suit his aching head.

"Well," said Mikage. "I have a feeling he's going to be a while."

"Should I walk you to your room, Lady Mikage?" asked Ushio.

"All right," she replied.

She rose and smoothed her skirts in a graceful motion, and then glided over to him to rest her hand on his arm in a familiar gesture that nevertheless never failed to set his heart racing. He walked slowly, pretending that he was not yet fully familiarized with the castle's hallways and trying to remember the way to her room, but really just trying to make the moment last. It was hard to know just how many more moments like this he would have, so for now, he would have to make the most of them.

And hope that someone out there felt the same way about Jack that he did.

* * *

Jack was struggling not to roll his eyes in exasperation. He'd spent the whole morning going over wedding plans - first with his advisor, then with Mikage herself. He'd done this under the watchful eye of that bodyguard of hers, who looked, if anything, even more sour than usual after his night of heavy drinking. And now, to top it off, he was getting a religious lecture.

"I don't see how you can say that," Jack answered the robed man, "considering that the peace was established long before your Goddess turned up."

"Don't be a fool. A goddess is eternal," said the other man. "Peace came to this kingdom because she favored it with her presence. Her incarnation was born the same year that the wars ended. Surely you cannot say that is a coincidence."

"So a girl was born that year. So were a lot of other babies. None of them had anything to do with the wars ending," Jack snapped. "Peace was established because one army overcame the other army, and a legitimate king was located. That's all there is to it. It had nothing to do with your goddess."

"But surely you can't deny her power," the robed man persisted. "Hundreds of people have been healed by her - they line up at the door to the temple hoping for miracles. No healer in the land has as much power as her."

"So she's a powerful healer. That doesn't make her a goddess any more than my court wizard's powers make him a god," said Jack. "As far as I'm concerned, you can take your Crimson Goddess and shove her."

The man's eyes darkened. "You'll be sorry you said that. Mark my words, the Goddess will punish you for your blasphemy."

"I look forward to it," said Jack. "I could use a challenge."

The man didn't seem to have an answer for that. He gave a low growl and stalked out of the audience chamber, his red robes fluttering dramatically behind him. Jack was not impressed.

"How foolish," he muttered.

He decided he'd had enough headaches for one day. It was time to make an escape. He left the audience chamber and slipped towards the exercise yard, hoping that there would be someone there who could help him work off his frustrations. Yusei would be best, but he would settle for even a lesser soldier as long as they could handle a sword. He wanted to hit _something_; he wasn't picky about what.

Luck was with him, and he found Kiryu in one corner of the yard, working out with a practice dummy. The silver-haired man smiled as he saw Jack approach.

"I had a feeling you'd be along," he said.

"Another minute and I would have hurt someone," said Jack. "I can think of several candidates."

"You need to get away from all this for a while," said Kiryu.

"I need all of this to go away, but it won't happen."

"But you could go away," Kiryu pointed out. "You're the king. Nobody can make you stay here if you really don't want to. There's no reason why they can't pick out the tablecloths for the wedding without you... or whatever it is they're doing in there."

"I know that. You know that. They don't know that."

Kiryu grinned. "And since when do you let anyone tell you what to do?"

Jack smirked back at him. "So I should let you tell me instead of them?"

"Well, what do _you_ want to do?"

"That should be obvious," Jack replied. "I want to be far away from all this nonsense. If I could, I would let them have the wedding without me."

"Then take a day off," said Kiryu. "Ride up to the hunting lodge and get some peace and quiet. I'll cover for you. You'll feel better after you've had some time alone."

Jack couldn't argue with that. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had more than an hour or so to himself - he even had guards watching over his room while he slept. A day or two of perfect isolation sounded wonderful. Surely he could slip away for a little while without there being too much of a problem. Goodwin would run things. He had run them for nearly sixteen years; he could manage by himself for a day or two. It was ridiculously irresponsible to think that way, but... well, Jack had been responsible for most of his life, and he was nearing his breaking point.

"You're sure you can manage?" he asked Kiryu.

His friend nodded. "I'll stall them long enough for you to get well away."

"Fair enough," said Jack.

He clapped a hand on Kiryu's shoulder. It was the closest he would come to thanking him.

Within a few minutes, with Kiryu's help, Jack had gathered a few provisions, a change of clothing, and a few other odds and ends, the kind of thing he would take with him on a hunting trip. Kiryu had acquired and saddled Jack's favorite horse, a sleek blood-bay that could outrun anything on legs.

"I'll be home tomorrow," Jack promised.

"Don't rush," said Kiryu. "Take whatever time you need."

Satisfied that all would be well, Jack set out. Though the day was warm, he was wearing a dull brown cloak that would hopefully get him through the city without attracting too much attention. Hopefully, he thought, no one would think to identify him by his horse. Thankfully, the city was crowded with visitors who had been attracted by the news of the forthcoming wedding and the promise of a grand celebration, and there were so many people crowding the city that no one noticed one more man on a horse.

Outside the city, things were far better. He raced along the main roads, and then down lesser-used paths, and finally over unbroken grass. By the time he reached the forest, he slowed his now-tiring horse and took off his cloak. He should, he thought, be far away enough from any other people that no one would see his face. He let the horse pick its way through the underbrush while it got its wind back. There were still several hours of daylight left, so he could take his time getting to the hunting lodge. For now, it was enough to be alone in the cool forest, breathing the scent of the pines and enjoying the solitude.

_Being a king wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have to deal with so many people,_ he mused. Everyone thought it must be wonderful to be the king, and have everyone do what he said, but most of the time it seemed as though his life was nothing but people making demands on him. Goodwin, Mikage, that surly bodyguard, those Crimson Goddess people... why did they all have to gang up on him at once?

Forcing that thought out of his mind, he continued to ride, always working his way more or less in the direction of the lodge. He had used it often when he had been younger, and had more time for lazing about with his friends. It had been disused, as of late, and he expected it would probably require some cleaning by the time he found it, but he didn't care. He wasn't so much attached to his status that he couldn't stand to sweep the dust out of a room before he slept in it. It would feel good to be doing something productive for a change, instead of engaging in endless diplomatic talk.

After he'd gone a few miles, he came upon a stream. He frowned at it for a moment.

"This isn't supposed to be here. I must have gone off-course," he said.

He knew from maps that there was a curving track of water that looped back on itself as it meandered through the forest. The fact that he'd found it at all meant he'd tended too closely towards the nearest village, which was not where he wanted to go. Jack felt chagrined by the fact that he'd nearly gotten himself lost. It really had been too long since he'd passed this way.

Still, there was no point in turning his nose up at a perfectly good stream. He could let his horse have a drink while he was there, and have a bit of cool water for himself as well. It would taste much better than something that had been warming inside a metal flask all day. He was just about to dismount when he became aware of the fact that someone was watching him.

Jack paused. How did he know someone was there? He stayed very still, alert to what all his senses were telling him. Yes, there it was - the crack of a twig, the faintest rustle of clothing. Someone was nearby.

"All right, I know you're there," he said loudly. "Come out where I can see you!"

Someone moved. They moved _quickly,_ in a rapid darting movement that his finely-tuned sense of battle told him was the wrong way for someone to move if they meant him no harm. Jack turned toward the sound, already reaching for his sword.

It was the turning that saved him. The arrow that would have otherwise found its way to his throat instead lodged in his shoulder. He gave a bellow of pain, and his horse, frightened by the sudden noise and movement, gave a lurch that sent the stunned Jack toppling from his saddle. He landed in the stream with a splash. He was dimly aware of the sound of footfalls racing away from him, but he had fallen at the wrong angle to see anything. He had a vague impression that his horse was running away as well, but he was in no shape to do anything about it. Spots were spinning before his vision, and soon his whole world spun away into darkness.

He awakened some time later - he was not even sure how long, though the angle of the shadows suggested that he'd been out only a few minutes. He was cold and wet. He was also in quite a lot of pain. He'd landed half-in and half-out of the stream, so that his legs were soaked with cold water, while his upper half was sticky with blood.

_Think, Jack. You can deal with this._

First things first. Physical condition - had the arrow hit anything vital? No, he didn't think so. It was bleeding, but sluggishly, not spurting as he'd expect it to if it had struck a major blood vessel. It was in deep, though. He could feel the edge of the arrow grinding against his shoulder blade when he tried to move, and the pain sent sparks across his vision. He gave his attention over to the pain, trying to get the shape of it, to isolate it and control it. He thought that the arrow must have gone nearly all the way through; there was a sharp prick that he imagined was the tip protruding through the skin of his back.

_I need to get this out. Then I need help._

The easiest way to get an arrow out, after it had gone in this far, was to push it out the other side. He wasn't going to enjoy that, but he reminded himself that trying to drag it out the same way it had gone in wasn't going to be pleasant either, and there was no telling what the edge of the sharp arrowhead would do to him if it went back through him. He used his good arm to carefully lever himself up off the ground, feeling his stomach churn; no matter how cautious he was, he couldn't stop his other arm from shifting. He managed at last, and braced his hand against the shaft of the arrow. He took a breath, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pushed. The sheer wrongness of feeling something sliding through his muscles, past his bones, was enough to make him gag, but he managed to reach around with his good arm and clumsily fish the bloody projectile free. Only once he was free of it did he allow himself to pass out again.

The next time he woke up, he could tell that a good deal more time had passed. He felt weak and lightheaded, even lying down, and he had a sneaking suspicion that the next time he went out, he wouldn't wake up again unless he could find some help. He forced himself to sit up again, and with shaking hands, managed to tear a strip off the hem of his shirt to use as a clumsy bandage. He had already lost more blood than was good for him, but he was sure that trying to walk would only make things worse. Any protection he could get would be a help.

As soon as his head had nearly stopped spinning, he began the task of crawling to the nearest tree. Fortunately, it was a pine tree with lots of low branches that he could use to haul himself up with, if he was careful. It took him a moment to find his balance once he was upright, and he didn't trust himself to last very long that way once he let go of the tree.

_Too much blood..._

But he had no choice. Once the sun went down, the wild animals would come, and his only hope then was that they would kill him _before_ they started eating him. The scent of his blood would draw them, so he would have to be far from here before they came. He measured the distance to the next tree and lurched towards it. Having reached it, he leaned there a moment, catching his breath and choosing his next goal. All he had to do, he told himself, was move to the next tree and the next one, and eventually he would reach the town...

It was slow, painful going. Each step of the journey took a little longer to recover from; he spent more time leaning against trees and resting than he did walking, and every movement sent new threads of pain radiating away from his wound. His vision began to take on a fuzzy edge, and it grew harder and harder to gauge distances. The shadows grew longer and longer, and at last blurred into one great darkness. He could not see where he was going at all, and he was tired, so tired...

Just before he began considering giving up and letting the wolves take him, he became aware of a light. He stared at it, trying to work out if it was just another trick his eyes were playing on him, but it remained clear and steady. He staggered towards it, tripping over roots but keeping himself upright by sheer willpower, knowing that once he fell he wouldn't be able to find the strength to stand again. Gradually, he became aware that what he was moving towards was a window. There was a light inside, as of a candle. There were people in there. There was help.

At last, he reached the door and slumped against it, too exhausted to go on. With the last of his strength, he raised his good hand to knock. It was not a particularly forceful knock, and he wondered if whoever was inside would hear it.

Inside the house, Carly was crouched over one of her books, writing slowly and carefully by candlelight. She was so caught up in her work that when she heard the sound of something colliding with her door, she thought at first that it was only her imagination. It was enough to alert her, though, so when the sound of someone knocking on her door reached her, soft as it was, she recognized it.

"Just a minute!" she called.

_Now, who could that be?_ she wondered, as she stood up. She stretched carefully, working the kinks out of her joints. Standing and looking around a bit was enough to make her realize just how late it really was. She should have been in bed long ago. Who on in the world would come knocking at her door at this hour?

"Who's out there, anyway?" she demanded, but there was no answer.

A little worried now, but also intrigued, she carefully unlatched the door, and someone fell on her. Carly gave a little yelp as she tried to stop the man from hitting the floor. With a great effort, she managed to not so much catch him as redirect him, so that instead of landing on his face, he instead dropped into a kitchen chair. She gawked at him, panting from the effort and surprise. He was terribly muddy, and his shirt was covered in blood. His face looked paler than the paper she had been writing on, but his eyes still blazed a dazzling violet. He looked like he was at Death's door. He was still the most beautiful man she'd ever seen.

"Who are you?" she asked.

He shook his head a little: he couldn't answer that question.

"Help me," he whispered, and then slumped into a dead faint.

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Taking Care

**Taking Care**

**By: SilvorMoon**

The castle was silent. Never completely silent, of course - it was always possible to hear the sounds of animals moving outside, or guards patrolling, but the noise was soft and distant, and should not have disturbed anyone. But they were not the sounds Mikage was used to, and her bed didn't feel like the one at home. The moonlight didn't slant through the windows in the same way, and the shadows didn't loom the way they had in her old home. Even the scent of the breeze was wrong. Her room at home had been close to the pleasure gardens, so that on spring nights, she could fall asleep breathing the scents of night-blooming flowers. This window opened out on a hedge-maze - entertaining enough to wander in, but not very interesting as nighttime scenery.

_This is ridiculous. I'm never going to get to sleep this way,_ Mikage thought.

She pushed off her blankets and rose from the bed. If she wasn't going to sleep, she thought she might take a walk to clear her head. She dressed quickly in the first suitable thing that came to hand, a simple walking dress that she could easily slip into without the help of a maid. Once she was suitably attired, she slipped out into the empty hallway.

For a moment, she toyed with the notion of waking her guard and asking him to come with her, but only for a moment. She knew he would come with her, if she asked him to, but she doubted that she would really need him just to step outside for a breath of fresh air. She had noticed, too, that he hadn't seemed to be feeling his best today; it seemed better just to let him sleep. Even so, she regretted somewhat that she could not have his company. Ushio had been her friend and companion ever since she had been old enough to be considered desirable, and therefore in need of a chaperone. She had been a bit frightened of him at first - his appearance was more than a little intimidating, and his manner could sometimes be a bit rough. Once she'd gotten used to him, though, she'd discovered that she liked him. He, at least, treated her as something other than an ornament. He would even explain matters of battle tactics and local politics, if she asked him. Most people would think a lady shouldn't know things like that, but he never made more than a token protest. It was nice to feel like someone thought she had a functioning mind as well as a pretty face.

Tonight, though, she thought it might be best to be alone. She had a lot to think about, and she wanted to do it without distractions. She made her way carefully down the hallway, thinking to herself that she might be able to calm down if only she could find the garden. At least that would give her something that might feel a little familiar...

_I have no reason to be homesick. This place is very pleasant, and everyone here has been kind to me. I have my servants with me, so there are familiar faces. And Jack is everything I could want in a husband. I will learn to be happy here. I will. It's just so much at once..._

At last, she found the door that led to the garden, and she escaped into the cool night air with a sense of relief. She felt as though the castle had been leaning on her, pressing its weight onto her shoulders. Now that she was outside, she could breathe more easily. She walked slowly down the paths, pausing from time to time to admire a particular plant.

_I hope he'll come home soon..._

They had told her earlier that day that Jack had gone hunting. The smooth-talking advisor had told her that it was nothing to worry about; that Jack had done this before; that all young men needed a chance to kick off their traces for a little while before settling down for good. She had been promised that he would return tomorrow and everything would proceed as planned. That was what everyone was telling her, but it didn't feel right to her. There was something odd about the fact that he had just disappeared with no warning. No one else seemed to be worried, but she couldn't shake the uncomfortable feeling that he had vanished because of her, because all of his kindness towards her was just an act.

"No, I refuse to believe that," she said aloud. "He wouldn't have agreed to marry me if he didn't want to. He's the king - he could have anyone he wants - and he chose me. He'll come back."

A breeze blew across her bare arms, and she shivered. The garden was growing colder. Caught up in her thoughts, Mikage had not realized that the previously clear night was clouding over. Now the garden seemed to be filling up with white fog. She stared, momentarily uneasy. The fog had swept in with surprising rapidity. She could see the plants and shrubs nearest to her, and the faintest shadow of a trellis, but the castle itself had become invisible. She was alone in a world of white. What was worse, she wasn't even quite sure how to get back inside.

_I should have brought Ushio after all,_ she thought ruefully. _It won't reflect well on me if I manage to get lost within walking distance of the castle..._

"Don't be alarmed," said a voice. It was a woman's voice, low and soothing, but Mikage was not soothed.

"Who's there?" she demanded.

Someone stepped out of the fog. She was dressed in dark clothing that made it hard to tell where she left off and the fog began. Her hair was dark too, and very long, nearly to her feet. In the uncertain light, her skin looked almost as pale as the fog, but her eyes had a cold blue light all their own.

"It is late for you to be walking outside by yourself," she said. She spoke very calmly, as though they were simply meeting each other at a party.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" Mikage demanded. Then, on an impulse, "Are you the one who made the king disappear?"

The woman frowned slightly. "I am sometimes called the Witch of the Mists. And you are Lady Mikage, the king's bride-to-be. Only not."

"What do you mean?" asked Mikage. "Explain yourself."

"I have a gift of foretelling a person's fate, sometimes," said the Witch. "You think he will return for you, but you are wrong. You will never marry the king, and you will never be queen."

"You're lying," said Mikage.

"I do not lie," the Witch replied. "Count yourself lucky. This kingdom is corrupt. You would be far better off to return to your home where you belong."

"I don't understand," Mikage said.

"Let this be a warning to you," answered the dark woman. "You are innocent. None of this is your fault. But I will stop at nothing to see that this corruption is cleansed, and if you are in my path, I will remove you from it. Forcibly. Do you understand?"

"What about Jack? Where is he?"

The woman frowned a little. "He is not here?"

Mikage shook her head. "No. He went out hunting earlier today, and he hasn't come back yet. They say he will be home tomorrow..."

"This is not good," said the witch, her frown deepening. "So. I should have known that he would run away..."

"He hasn't run away!" Mikage protested. The words were too close to what she had been thinking for comfort.

"Maybe he did not intend to, but that does not mean that he hasn't," said the witch. "It was irresponsible of him to leave. It is irresponsible for him to not realize what is going on right under his nose..."

"What do you mean? Is something happening? Tell me!" Mikage demanded.

"You are better off not getting involved."

Mikage looked pleadingly at her. "Then can you at least find out where he is?"

The Witch was quiet for a moment, considering.

"I will find him," she said at last. The mist thickened around her, blotting her out.

"Wait!" said Mikage, but it was already too late. A breeze blew past her, scattering the fog, leaving nothing behind. She stood and stared a moment.

_A dream?_ she thought. _No, I don't think so._

She thought carefully for a moment. Then she turned and walked back to the castle.

* * *

Jack woke up slowly, and wondered why his bed didn't feel the way it usually did. Memory slowly trickled back to him: he'd been planning on going to stay at the lodge; he must be there now. Then he stirred a little, and a jolt of pain from his shoulder brought him to full consciousness. He opened his eyes.

He was lying on a bed, but it was nowhere he knew. It appeared to be a small cottage surrounded, at least on the side Jack could see through the nearest window, by trees, which meant he hadn't made it as far as the village. The cottage itself was built roughly but sturdily of logs. The room he was currently occupying was sparsely furnished, but through the open door, he could see a slightly more comfortable kitchen. Someone was moving around just beyond his line of sight, and he could smell something cooking.

"Who's there?" he called.

There was a clatter, as though someone had dropped something.

"Oh! You're awake!"

A young woman appeared in the doorway, her expression anxious. Jack could tell by her clothing that she was a commoner, and not a particularly successful one at that. She was also wearing glasses, which surprised him - he'd never seen a woman with spectacles before. He attempted to sit up, and once again had to lie still as pain shot through him.

"No, don't try to move," she said, moving closer to him. "You're hurt pretty bad - I wasn't sure you were going to make it."

"How long have I been here? Where am I? Who are you?" Jack demanded. As something new occurred to him, he added with some indignation, "And where are my clothes?"

A closer check informed him that he was naked save for his underwear and a bandage wrapped tightly over his wounded shoulder, binding his arm in place. The young woman blushed.

"I had to get rid of most of them," she admitted. "You were covered in blood and mud, and I needed to clean your shoulder, and I knew they'd never wash out, and..." She was babbling, her voice too high and too fast. Jack glared at her, and she shut her mouth with a snap.

"I want something to wear," he said. "And I want answers to the rest of my questions."

She nodded timidly and scampered away. Jack relaxed again, closing his eyes. He supposed he ought to be grateful to the woman for tending to him, but he really didn't have the energy for it. A little while later, he heard her return, but he didn't bother opening his eyes.

"Here," she said. "You can wear these. They're probably too big for you, but they're all I've got."

He heard her set something down next to him, and he finally opened his eyes to see a neatly folded pile of plain homespun garments. They did look to big for him, but at least he'd be decently covered. He turned his gaze back on the woman, who was fidgeting nervously.

"Answers," he reminded her.

"Right. Um," she said. "I'm Carly, the bookbinder's daughter. This is my house. It's about a mile from the village. You've been here all night. Um... is it okay to ask who _you_ are?"

Jack considered that question. He really wasn't sure he wanted her to know that he was the king, but his name was hardly an uncommon one. If she hadn't recognized him by his face, his name was hardly going to be a giveaway.

"My name is Jack," he told her.

"All right. Are you hungry, Jack?"

That question didn't require any thought at all. He hadn't eaten anything since lunch the previous day.

"Yes," he said.

"Good," she said. "I made enough for both of us, just in case."

Breakfast turned out to be eggs and sausage, along with bowls of some sort of porridge sweetened with honey and bits of fruit. It was a far cry from what he would have been offered at the castle, but far better than what he'd have eaten alone in the lodge - he'd never really gotten good at cooking for himself, but Carly had done a good job of it, so he ate without complaint. Carly seemed pleased by his appreciation of her cooking and gave him second helpings without being asked. Knowing that he had lost a good deal of blood and needed to rebuild his strength, he accepted what was offered while he pondered his new situation.

Someone had tried to kill him. No matter how much he would have liked to believe otherwise, he was in no position to think that it had been anything other than a deliberate attempt on his life, made by someone who knew exactly who he was. Who could it be? Well, who wouldn't it be? He had done his best to be a good ruler, but that didn't necessarily make him a popular one, and there were dissenters even in the best-run kingdom. Any one of his enemies could have stalked him there. But would someone who had been planning an assassination attempt have planned everything more carefully than to fire off one wild shot and then leave him for dead? It might have simply been a crime of opportunity.

Right. Someone had just happened to be strolling in the middle of nowhere, saw him pass by, and decided it would be fun to shoot the king. No, someone might have decided to take the chance of killing him when he'd offered it, but they had been waiting for just such an opportunity. Probably they had now assumed he was dead, which meant he had a little bit of leeway to play with. On the other hand, whoever wanted to kill him would recognize him before he noticed them...

And what about this Carly? Could he trust her? Probably. As illogical as it was, he couldn't believe that this clumsy girl in those ridiculous spectacles harbored anything but kindness towards him. His suspicious mind said that there was something a little bit off about a young woman living alone in a hut a mile from the nearest town, conveniently placed only a short walk from the place where he'd been shot, but he nevertheless couldn't bring himself to think she'd had anything to do with his mishap. He could have justified his trust by saying that she'd had every opportunity to finish him off while he was sleeping if she wanted to - surely anyone allied with the killer wouldn't have bothered to clean him and bandage his wound, much less make breakfast for him afterwards - but mostly it was just a gut feeling that bespectacled girls named Carly didn't go around getting involved in regicides. It would be too ridiculous.

He set his now-empty bowl on the bedside table.

"Thank you," he said.

"You're welcome," she said. "So... what happened?"

"I'm not sure," Jack said carefully. "I was hunting in the woods, and someone shot at me."

"Someone you were with?"

"I was alone."

"Why would anyone shoot you?" she asked.

"That's what I want to know."

The conversation faltered. Jack let it hang, not particularly interested in sharing any more with her. Just because he thought he could trust her, that didn't mean he was ready to tell her everything he knew. Let her go on thinking he was some noble who had gotten himself lost in her woods and shot by a careless deer hunter or wandering vagabond. She seemed to think she should keep him talking though, and cast about awkwardly for something to say.

"So you're really feeling better now? You scared me last night, falling through the door like that..."

"I'll be fine," he said, which might not be true. Managing not to die of blood loss was one thing; managing avoiding infection was something else again. "Is there a healer in this town?"

"Not really," Carly admitted. "There's a hedgewitch you can get herbs from, but all the really good healers left when the Crimson Goddess set up shop here."

"Close enough. That should be enough to get me home again. Just tell me where to find her.

Forgetting his lack of clothing, Jack began to sit up, thinking to leave. He was stopped by the combined forces of the sudden shock of cool air on his bare skin, the fresh pain from his injury, and the fact that Carly was pushing him with surprising force back onto the mattress.

"You're not going anywhere," she said. "I spent the whole night looking after you when I should have been _working_, and I'm not going to let you do something stupid and die on me now. You will stay _right here_, and _I_ will go to the hedgewitch and get medicine if you can convince me that you are going to _stay put_."

Jack stared at her in something like amazement. People did not speak to him like that, especially well-bred young ladies.

"What kind of woman are you?" he asked.

"Oh, well," she said, blushing a little. "It was always just me and my dad, and he didn't much bother with treating me like a girl. I can read and write and everything."

"You keep mentioning your father," said Jack. "Where is he?"

Her expression faltered. "He died, about three years ago. This was his room."

"I see," said Jack. He thought about offering his sympathies, and changed his mind. He didn't feel especially sympathetic; he would do her the honor of being honest with her. "Fine. Have it your way, then. I'll stay here while you get the medicine."

"You promise?" she asked skeptically.

"Where am I going to go?" he replied. "As you pointed out, I'm still injured. I'm miles away from home, and my horse is gone. There's someone out there who apparently wants to kill me. And I'm not even _dressed_."

"All right," she said, still eyeing him skeptically. "I won't be gone long. Stay put." In a burst of generosity, she added, "You can read my books while I'm gone, if you want."

Books? Right, she'd said she was a bookbinder's daughter. Surely there would be a few books around - to work on, if not to own. He nodded acquiescence.

Carly left, after one final exhortation to relax and not strain himself. Jack waited until he was sure she was gone before carefully easing himself into a sitting position. It still hurt, but the bandages helped, if only by keeping him from moving too much. Since there was no one else around, he took the opportunity to get dressed in private. As Carly had warned, they were rather too big for him, and he guessed they were things of her late father's that she had kept for whatever reason. They fit well enough across the shoulders, but they were obviously made for someone with a larger stomach than Jack had. Fortunately, Carly had saved his belt, and everything covered him well enough once he'd cinched it all in place.

That activity took more out of him that he would have liked, and he sat for a moment on the side of the bed, catching his breath. Now that he was up, however, he was reluctant to lie back down again, so he shuffled into the next room.

The glimpse he had caught from his door was typical enough: a small kitchen area at one end of the room, and a workbench at the other, spread with knives and pots of glue and various brushes, along with other things that Jack couldn't identify but assumed were part of the bookbinding trade. There was also a single shelf containing several battered volumes. He imagined they must have been read many, many times, probably rebound and repaired at that very worktable whenever they became too worn. He had a brief vision of Carly as a child, her eyes already ruined by poring over these books, sitting in front of the fire while her father read to her. She was a brave woman to stay here, carrying on his work alone, instead of going into town and becoming someone's obedient housewife. He felt a flicker of respect for her, and brushed the thought aside. He was grateful to her for helping him, and when he returned home, he would arrange for some suitable reward for her. Money would be simplest; she looked like she could use it. That was nice and impersonal. No need to get more involved than that.

The only other room seemed to be Carly's own room, and Jack didn't feel like going in there and snooping through her personal belongings. He didn't feel much like moving at all, to tell the truth. He pulled up the nearest chair close to the bookshelf and picked something at random. He only made it a few pages in before he fell back to sleep.

A spider walked across the table.

* * *

Yusei was on patrol, walking with purpose up and down the halls. Technically, his special task was to protect Jack, but since his friend wasn't here right now, he had extended his duties to patrolling the entire castle. There seemed to be some cause for it; everyone had been under the impression that Jack would be returning sometime early today, and so far, he had failed to appear. The other residents of the castle were understandably concerned, and Yusei felt it would be best if he did what he could to keep them all calm, which included making sure everyone could see that he was busy protecting them.

As he passed by the library, he became aware of a movement within, and he looked through the door to see Kiryu standing near a shelf of dusty old scrolls, picking through them with a thoughtful expression.

"Learning anything?" Yusei asked.

Kiryu gave a start, and then turned to smile at Yusei with a slightly sheepish expression.

"Just fidgeting," he answered. "I was thinking about Jack. He was supposed to be back by now..."

"He'll be back," said Yusei. "Jack is strong."

Kiryu nodded, his eyes distant. Yusei felt a pang for both his friends. He was worried about Jack, too, but he didn't want his friend to worry. He had always been closer to Kiryu than Jack or Crow had. Kiryu tended to be a bit unapproachable - not in the haughty way Jack was, but simply distant. He was a planner, always full of ideas, and sometimes seemed to live more in his world of ideas than in the moment. Jack and Crow were too strong-minded to want to follow someone else's ideas all the time, but Yusei had always felt comfortable around him.

There was a pounding of footsteps, someone in heavy boots running up the hall. Crow put his head through the library door, his face white as a sheet.

"Guys, you're not going to believe this," he said.

"What? What is it?" asked Yusei.

"Jack's horse came back," said Crow. "There was blood on the saddle. No Jack. They - they're saying he's..."

"He can't be," said Yusei. It didn't seem possible, a world with no Jack in it. Jack was his friend. More importantly, he was the _king_, and everything in the kingdom depended on him. With him gone, there could be war again.

Kiryu slumped against the wall. "This is my fault..."

"Don't talk like that," Crow scolded him.

"But it is! I was the one who told him to go off by himself..."

"It isn't your fault," Yusei insisted. "We don't even know for sure what happened. He could still be alive somewhere..."

Crow shook his head. "Not according to the wizard. He says he's done a trace, and Jack's definitely... he's just not coming back."

Kiryu clenched his fists, shaking his head in denial. "That... that can't be. That just can't be..."

"There's going to be a meeting in the conference room," said Crow dully. "I've got some more people to tell. I'll see you soon, all right?"

"I don't know if I'm going to be there," said Kiryu. He was shaking slightly. "I feel like I need to lie down..."

"I'll take you to your room," Yusei volunteered. He was still reeling. It would help to have something he could do, even such a small thing. Kiryu nodded gratefully, leaning on Yusei's arm. Yusei could feel him trembling, and was surprised. Kiryu had always been so collected; seeing him come apart at the seams like this was almost more upsetting than Crow's news. That was still something abstract, but Kiryu's breakdown was happening in front of him.

It felt like it took a long time to get Kiryu to his room. They didn't speak to each other as they walked; Kiryu seemed to have gone into some sort of shock, and it took most of Yusei's attention to keep him walking in a more or less straight line. When they reached Kiryu's room, he turned him loose, and was disturbed to see that Kiryu just stood there, staring off into space.

"You wanted to lie down," Yusei prompted.

"Oh. Right," he said, and stretched out on his bed. He closed his eyes. Yusei watched him a moment, half-expecting an explosion, but Kiryu remained quiet. After a minute or so, Yusei turned to leave.

"Yusei?" said Kiryu.

"Yes?"

"Don't let anything happen to you."

Yusei smiled faintly, touched. "I won't. I promise."

"Good."

Yusei made his way toward the door. "Get some rest, Kiryu."

Kiryu made an uncertain sort of noise. Yusei hoped that meant he would stay put, and hopefully not do anything drastic. Not that he wouldn't sympathize if he did - Yusei felt like doing something drastic, too.

_Jack is dead..._

The thought made Yusei shake his head. He never could have imagined that anyone, _anything_, could strike Jack down. But one thing was for sure: if Yusei ever found the person responsible, he was going to make them sorry they'd ever been born.

* * *

Ushio was not nearly as happy as he thought he would have been. If anyone had asked him yesterday how he would have felt to know that the king was going to leave and never return, he would have said that he would be overjoyed. Now that it was happening, though...

The castle was in an uproar, and it wouldn't be long before the word got out to the common people. There was no heir to the throne. Without a strong leader, people in the less stable parts of the kingdom were liable to panic, or even revolt. There was a very good chance that war would begin again. And Mikage was stranded here with no clear idea of what was to become of her. There was danger in the air, and Ushio was determined to protect her at all costs. Even now, he was prowling the hallways, his ears pricked for any sign of mischief.

"...should have consulted me beforehand. Really, that was quite reckless of you."

That was the voice of that mealy-mouthed advisor. Ushio scowled. Something about the man struck him as untrustworthy. In Ushio's world, men were supposed to be able to fight, if they wanted to be considered men. That pale, silvery gentleman with the fine clothes and glib words rubbed him the wrong way. He crept closer to the source of the sound, trying to listen.

"What else was I supposed to do?" That gruff voice was the court wizard, the brother of the advisor. "He was half-dead when I found him. It seemed best to cut our losses. We didn't want him anymore. You said as much yourself."

"We wanted him to produce an heir first," Rex replied.

"Then find another one. Manufacture it! How many of these peasants know anything about bloodlines anyway? Find some suitable brat and say he's a legitimate heir, and that's an end to it."

"I suppose you're right. Still, I had hoped to have a bit more time to plan things."

Rudger grunted, sounding apologetic. "It'll take a day or two for the poison to take effect. My spiders don't work fast, but they do the job right."

"And you're certain that nothing is going to heal him?"

"Completely. I invented that venom myself - no one can cure that spider's bite but me. The best healer in the kingdom couldn't save him now, and there's nothing in that backwater he's landed in but hedgewitches and midwives."

"Hm. Perhaps it would be advisable to fetch him back after all," said Rex thoughtfully. "Grievously injured, sick, barely clinging to life... How long could you keep him clinging?"

"Some months. Maybe a year."

"Plenty of time. You will just have to have misread the signs, probably due to his failing life-force. No one will know the difference."

But someone would know. As quietly as he could, Ushio slipped away, hoping that no one had taken note of his presence. Anyone who was willing to poison the king wouldn't flinch at killing a simple guard...

He wanted to find Mikage. He wanted to find her and to tell her that she was living in a castle full of madmen, and that they needed to get out of there _right now_ before someone could decide that Mikage was no longer necessary. He could get a horse and some supplies and he could take her to safety.

He needed to tell her that her fiance was alive, that he was in danger, and that he might yet be saved if someone could find him and bring him back. As far as Ushio knew, he was the only one who could be counted on to do it.

"Somebody up there really doesn't like me," he groused.

Meanwhile, Mikage was sitting alone at the center of the hedge maze. She had not had the courage, yet, to return to the garden again, even if she couldn't imagine that the Witch of the Mists would appear there in broad daylight. The hedge maze felt like a reasonable compromise - open to the outdoors and yet isolated enough to afford her some privacy. She rested on a stone bench and stared sightlessly at the fountain that played at the center of the maze.

Jack was dead. The thought circled around in her mind, never settling. The moment she'd laid eyes on him, she had been impressed by his vitality, his fighting spirit. It was impossible to imagine someone like him lying inert with the brilliance gone out of his eyes. But everyone said it was true, that he was never coming back, and what did that mean for her? She had accepted that she was to be married to him, and had even been happy about it. He was the living embodiment of a handsome prince from a story - how could she help but love him? But now he was gone, and she had been forgotten. No one had even invited her to the meeting. When it all came down, it seemed, she wasn't really that important...

"Lady Mikage! Lady Mikage, where are you? I can't find you...."

Mikage raised her head as she realized that someone was stumbling through the maze looking for her.

"Hold still," she called back. "I'll come get you."

She left the center of the maze and began working her way down the paths, looking for the source of the sound. Fortunately the maze was a fairly simple one, and she had learned its ins and outs by studying it through her bedroom window. After a few twists and turns, she was able to locate Ushio, standing and glaring in consternation at a dead-end path.

"This way," she said gently.

"Oh! Right. I knew that," he said, coloring slightly.

"Did you need me for something?"

"Er, yeah. I've got to tell you something, and it's really important," he said. He shifted awkwardly. "The thing is, I heard that creepy advisor talking to the wizard. They were saying..." He hesitated, then went on doggedly, "they were saying that the King is still alive."

"But... I was sure they said..."

"Yeah, well, that's not what they're saying now. The way they're talking, he's hurt bad but he's still alive. And there was something about spiders I didn't get, but the point is, the king is poisoned and he's only got a few days to live if someone doesn't get him the antidote."

Mikage felt a rush of hope. Still alive. Antidote. These were the only words that fully registered with her.

"So they're going to save him?" she asked.

Ushio shook his head. "That's just it - they're the ones who poisoned him. They want to rule the kingdom so they're going to keep him too sick to do anything about it."

"They can't do that!" she exclaimed.

"They _are_ doing it. I mean, they've already _done_ it."

Mikage thought a moment. "You said something about an antidote...?"

"The wizard said he could cure the poison. I don't know if that means he just knows how, or if he's already got the antidote lying around somewhere."

"We'll have to get it," she decided.

"Wait, what?"

"I said, we'll have to get the antidote. We can't just leave him to die - not if we know there's a way to save him."

"I know, I know," he said, "but what's all this 'we' business?"

"Did you think I was going to sit by and do nothing when I know the king is dying?"

"Well, no, but..." Ushio faltered. "It's going to be dangerous! You could get hurt!"

She raised her head proudly. "Jack is the king, and he is my fiance. I have a duty to protect him if I can. And the first thing we have to do is find that antidote and bring it to him before they find him." She turned pleading eyes on him. "You'll find it, won't you?"

"The antidote? Um... yeah! Yeah, sure, no problem," he blurted. "You can count on me. Don't worry about a thing. Just... don't tell anyone about this, all right? This is our secret."

"Of course," Mikage said. "And you be careful, too. You're the only real friend I've got here."

He smiled slightly. "Don't you worry about me. I won't let anything happen. No matter what, I'll be here to protect you."

Then, to her surprise, he took her hand and kissed it. She stood frozen, feeling the slight tremor in the hand that held hers. Then he released her and departed, soon disappearing around a bend in the maze.

* * *

It took Carly longer than she had expected to make her trip to town. Even though she set a brisk pace for herself, so much that she was perspiring slightly by the time she reached the edge of the village, she ended up being waylaid almost as soon as she reached her destination. As soon as she neared the hedgewitch's modest shop, she found the entrance blocked by one of the ubiquitous men in red robes.

"Get out of my way!" she told him. "I'm on a serious mission!"

"You need nothing from here," the worshiper told her.

"Well, I know someone who does," she retorted, "so move!"

"You are misguided," said the man in red. "These herbs and potions are weak cures at best and dangerous at worst. If you need healing, you should come to the Goddess. She can do whatever you need."

"Well, if this doesn't work, maybe I'll give her a try," said Carly.

Before the man could delay her further, she managed to duck under his outstretched arm and rush into the shop, slamming the door behind her.

"Whew!" she said. "Those guys are getting pushier every day!"

"They're a nuisance," said the hedgewitch with feeling. "I've tried everything I can think of to get rid of them, short of throwing things at them, and they keep coming back. Even my best charms are no good."

"You think they've really got a goddess in that old temple of theirs?" asked Carly curiously. "I always figured they were just a bunch of crazies."

"They have some sort of power," said the hedgewitch. "I don't know if it's a goddess, but whatever it is, it's stronger than I am. So, what can I do for you, since you've made the effort to come here? You don't look ill."

"No, but I've got a friend who hurt himself, and I didn't want him getting hurt more walking all the way up here. He could barely even sit up the last time I saw him."

"We'll get him taken care of, then. Half a moment."

Carly waited and watched as the old woman searched the shelves for a bottle of clear greenish-brown liquid, and then filled a small packet with brown powder. She handed both of these to Carly, who accepted them with a murmur of thanks.

"Wipe the wound down with this," the hedgewitch instructed her, indicating the potion, "at least twice a day, and more often if it doesn't seem to be healing. Mix a spoonful of the powder with a mug of hot water and have him drink it twice a day - it will ease his pain and help restore his strength."

"I will, don't worry," said Carly. "Really, thanks a lot!"

Feeling much more cheerful, she scampered out of the shop, nearly bowling over the man who was busy proselytizing to the passers-by, and resisted the urge to stick her tongue out at him as she passed. Instead, she concentrated on getting home as quickly as possible without losing the precious medicines she was carrying. She returned home panting and sticky but pleased with herself.

She found Jack asleep, his cheek resting against the pages of one of her much-abused books. Carly smiled and gently slipped the book out from under him and put it back on the shelf. He never so much as twitched.

"I knew you'd never make it into town," she told him.

He slept on. He looked so peaceful that she almost wondered if the medicine she'd brought was really necessary - it was hard to imagine that there was anything wrong with him that another good night's sleep wouldn't cure. She took a few steps closer, admiring his proud features and fair skin. She found herself reaching out to stroke his golden hair and pulled her hand away quickly. If she'd done that and he'd woken up...

Well, there was no harm in looking, anyway. She found herself wondering just who he was. That fair skin and those graceful hands didn't belong to a commoner. You didn't get a complexion like that as a common-born person, not unless you were lucky enough to have a job doing something indoors - bookbinding, for example. He was too pale to be a soldier, but the hand that lay curled on the table showed the calluses of a swordsman. He'd mentioned having a horse too, and riding horses didn't come cheaply. He had to be some sort of noble. Maybe even royal...

_No, that's impossible. What would the king be doing riding around in the woods alone? Kings are supposed to have guards and retainers and things. This is just some baron's son out on a hunting trip, or something like that._

Putting those uncomfortable thoughts out of her head, she made her way into the kitchen and began putting on water to boil. She was still attending to this when her attention was drawn by a noise. She looked up to see Jack leaning against the doorframe.

"When did you get back?" he asked. "And why didn't you wake me?"

"I was going to," said Carly, "as soon as the medicine is ready. Here." She offered him the bottle of green stuff. "Put this on your shoulder."

He looked at the liquid dubiously, but after a moment of considering his options, he removed his shirt and began to undo the bandage. Carly pointedly kept her gaze on what she was doing, but she heard the cork being withdrawn, and there was a powerful smell of something like pine needles. Deciding to risk violating his privacy, she glanced over her shoulder and saw Jack tentatively dabbing the stuff on the scab. She made a noise of irritation.

"Here, give me that," she said.

She snatched the bottle out of his hand, earning a glare from him, and poured a puddle of the medicine into her palm. She smeared it thickly over his shoulder and then turned him around so that she could apply it to the second mark on his back. He tolerated this treatment stolidly and allowed her to re-bandage him with a clean piece of cloth.

"You'll be rewarded for this, of course," he said. "As soon as I return home, I'll see to it that you are fairly reimbursed."

"What? What are you talking about?" she demanded, outraged. "You think I'm doing this for _money?_"

He met her eyes squarely. "If you don't want money, what _do_ you want?"

"I want you to get well. That's all," she told him. "As long as you're in my house, you're my guest and I'm going to take care of you. I'd do the same even if you were a streetsweeper or something."

He looked at her as though he did not believe her, an she stared back, holding his gaze. He was the first to look away.

"You're a strange woman," he said.

"You're not exactly ordinary yourself," she said.

He raised his head sharply, and Carly wondered what sort of nerve she'd hit. She watched him inquisitively, but it looked like no information was forthcoming.

"Your pot is boiling over," he said instead.

"What? Oh!" Carly yelped, and hurried to rescue her kettle. She sloshed some water on the floor, soaking her shoes, and swore softly.

"Perhaps you're right," said Jack. "I shouldn't be offering you a reward for saving me until I'm sure you're not going to kill me."

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Carly protested.

Attempting to salvage what little was left of her dignity, she poured some of the remaining water into a mug and began mixing herbs into it while Jack put his shirt back on again. When he was done, she offered the mug to him.

"Careful, it's hot," she said. "Drink it as fast as you can and try not to taste it."

"What kind of advice is that?" said Jack irritably. He blew at the steaming drink and then raised it to his lips. He took one mouthful, stifled a cough, and barely managed to swallow it instead of spraying it across the room. "What in the nine hells was that? Are you trying to poison me?"

"I warned you not to taste it," said Carly. "Drink it. You'll feel better."

"I should have stuck with the wolves," Jack grumbled, but he drank the stuff anyway.

"It's not so bad," she replied. "You should see the stuff the hedgewitch gives you if you've got a stuffy nose."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"It'll clear your nose, all right," she said, "and everyone else's for miles around."

Jack gave a snort that Carly decided was his way of laughing, and she smiled at him.

"If really want to repay me for something," she said, "you can help me work."

"I don't know anything about book-binding," he replied.

"That's fine," she said. "You can make ink."

He could make ink. Making ink seemed to primarily involve grinding quantities of different pigments in a bowl and mixing them with water, which was something he could do even with only one good arm. Across from him, Carly sat with a book open in front of her, carefully copying lines from it onto fresh pages.

"So, where did you come from?" she asked.

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "I was born into one of the noble families far from here. I was sent to the castle to become a knight."

"I always wanted to see the royal city... I've never really had a chance to go there."

"It isn't much to see. It's just like any other city."

Carly looked up at him. "Don't you like it there?"

"Sometimes," he said. "Most of the time I don't."

"Why not?"

"Too many people telling me what to do. I never get to decide anything for myself - everything has to be for the good of someone else," he replied. "Some days I feel like a damned puppet with everyone in the world pulling my strings."

"Why do you keep doing it, then?" she asked. "Can't you just... do something else?"

"No," he said. "And even if I could, I wouldn't. Someone has to do what I'm doing. If I don't do it, no one else will."

"Wow," she said. "That's kind of sad... but I guess it's something, to know you're needed. I don't think there's anyone here who couldn't do without me," she added quietly.

"Isn't it good enough for you," said Jack, "to have been in the right place at the right time, even once?"

Carly looked up sharply at him, but he was looking down at the ink. She smiled.

"Yeah," she said. "It's worth it."

**To Be Continued...**


	3. The Temple of the Goddess

**The Temple of the Goddess**

**By: SilvorMoon**

Ushio was thinking deeply. It was not something he was particularly good at, and the strain was showing. He would sit for a moment, his face buried in his hands, then get up and pace for a while before snarling in frustration and dropping back into his chair. If he'd had something to throw at the wall, he would have done it. As it was, he simply grumbled to himself.

Someone opened the door to his room.

"Go away," Ushio said, without looking up.

"Nah, I'd rather stay here and bother you," said a vaguely familiar voice. Ushio looked up to see the young soldier with the unruly red hair, the one he could dimly remember had dragged him back to his room the night of the engagement party. His face had been cheerful then, but now it showed signs of weariness.

"I don't see why you care," Ushio grumbled.

"Maybe I'm looking for a distraction," said Crow. "What's eating you?"

"Nothing," said Ushio. Then, on further consideration, "Hey. You're loyal to the king, right?"

"What are you getting at?" said Crow, bristling.

"I'm not getting at anything. I'm asking."

"Well, for your information, there's no one more loyal to the king than me," said Crow. "If it weren't for him, I'd probably be dead or in prison right now."

Ushio was surprised. "You're a criminal? And you're guarding the king?"

"Well, not anymore," said Crow bitterly, "but yeah, I got nabbed for stealing. So what? There were kids with no parents after the war, and I wasn't about to let them all starve to death. If I had to take something from people who had more than they needed, that's what I did. Lucky for me, the king saw it my way. Not only did he pardon me, he fined everybody in the court for not doing their duty to the poor." The young guard's face relaxed into a smile at the memory.

"Huh," said Ushio.

He considered for a moment. He knew he had a duty to save the king if he could. He was also rapidly coming to the conclusion that he would not be able to do it by himself. He was going to need someone's help.

"Listen," he said. "Can you keep a secret?"

"When I feel like it, sure."

"It's about the king."

Crow's eyes widened. "You know something?"

"Right," said Ushio. "Don't tell anyone, but I heard the wizard and that advisor talking, and they're saying the King is still alive."

"What?"

"Keep it down! He's alive, but he's hurt bad - poisoned." Quickly he explained what he had overheard. Crow listened with an expression of deepening disgust and fury.

"Those rats," he hissed savagely, slamming his fist into his palm. "I always knew those two were no good. So we need to get the antidote and get it to Jack before it's too late, right? Leave it to me!"

"You think you can get it?"

Crow grinned. "You came to the right thief! I can get in and out of any room in this castle. We'll have that antidote before sunset. Boy, wait until I tell Yusei and Kiryu about this..."

"No. No telling. This is a secret."

"What, you don't trust them?" asked Crow. "You listen here - those two have known Jack since before they could walk. Neither of them would _ever_..."

"Look, I'm not stupid. If everyone knows something, it ain't a secret, right?"

Crow stopped short, then nodded. "Yeah... yeah, you're right. The more people who know, the more likely it'll get out. You're not as dumb as you look."

Ushio nodded. "They can find out when we get back - with the king."

Crow gave Ushio a long, considering look. "You know, for a guy who was ready to push Jack's face through a wall, you sure are determined to get him back safe and sound. What's your angle?"

"Mikage loves him," said Ushio. "I'd do anything to make her happy. _Anything._ Do you understand?"

"Yeah," said Crow softly. "Yeah, I get it. Don't worry, we'll deal with this." He shook his head, his expression one of admiration mixed with pity. "You damned son of a bitch."

"Yeah, no kidding," Ushio agreed.

The two of them discussed the matter further and agreed that Crow would search Rudger's workshop for the antidote, and then the two of them would strike out together in the direction Jack had last been seen under the pretense of looking for the man who had attacked him. Yusei and Kiryu would be persuaded to remain to keep an eye on the castle while they were gone. It wasn't the most foolproof of plans, but there wasn't enough time to refine it. Once they were certain they both understood what they were doing, Crow departed in search of the antidote.

_Well, this should be fun,_ he mused as he ambled down the hall. His spirits had been greatly restored by the news that his friend was still alive, and having a clear course of action gave him hope. _It'll be just like old times. I've never tried to rob a wizard before._

The most difficult thing would be getting in and out without Rudger realizing that he was the one responsible, once the antidote turned up missing. Crow was aware that the wizard had his lair outfitted with several invisible "webs" that would capture a bit of an intruder's essence. If anything was stolen, those webs would haul the felon into Rudger's grasp as inevitably as a spider's threads bound an insect. They would record the presence of anyone who entered the room for as long as Rudger cared to keep them. Fortunately, they couldn't remember everything a person did once they were in there, and that was what Crow was counting on to save him.

He reached the wizard's door and rapped sharply.

"What is it?" Rudger snapped. "I'm busy."

"I've got a message for you," said Crow.

Without waiting for an answer, he pushed the door open and let himself in. The room looked just as it had the last time he had seen it: dimly lit by candles, cluttered with books and artefacts, and smelling faintly of brimstone and burnt hair. The corners were adorned by a variety of spider webs, ranging from elegant spirals to dusty cobwebs, each of them occupied by spiders of various sizes and shapes. A shelf held several glass tanks containing more spiders as big as Crow's hand, and he gave them a wide berth.

_Should have known you can't trust a guy who's this crazy about spiders._

Luckily, there was no one else in the room but Rudger and his pets. The wizard was giving Crow an annoyed glare, but Crow ignored it.

"They're looking for you in the library," he said.

"What for?"

"I don't know," said Crow. "I think it had something to do with finding the next heir."

"Hm," said Rudger. "That was fast... I suppose I had better see what Rex is up to."

He rose to his feet and swept out of the room. Crow pretended to follow him, but as soon as he reached the door, he turned and doubled back. Free from scrutiny, he began snooping through the shelves.

He carefully avoided going anywhere near the cages filled with giant spiders. Several more shelves held nothing but books, which held no interest for Crow. He concentrated on examining the collections of magical bric-a-brac, particularly the bottles of colored fluid with their carefully written labels. Most of them had things written on them that he didn't understand, nor did he feel as though he would be able to pronounce them. None of them had anything convenient like "Antidote to poisons suitable for regicide" written on them. He stared at them a moment, thinking hard.

"Now, if I were going to poison someone," he said, "the biggest thing I'd be worried about is making sure I had the antidote handy in case of accidents. So whatever it is, it must have been handled recently. Hm..."

He looked the bottles over carefully, not looking at labels but instead checking for fingerprints. Most of the bottles had a layer of dust on them. Only one showed signs of being disturbed. Crow picked it up and studied it more closely.

"Elixir Vitae," he read aloud. "Well, that sounds promising."

He began to pocket the vial. Then, on second thought, he filched an empty bottle from a nearby table and carefully poured the elixir into it. Then he poured a few drops of various other things into the original bottle until it was full of something that was more or less the same color. He returned it to its original place, corked the bottle of antivenom, and hurried out of the room.

Meanwhile, Ushio was in his room, packing his things. He didn't know exactly how far it was going to be to this village or what he was likely to encounter when he got there, but he had a soldier's knowledge of how to prepare for nearly anything.

But he wasn't prepared for what he found on his doorstep. When he heard the knock, he assumed it was Crow returning with the antidote, and he closed his pack and went to greet him. Instead, he found Mikage standing there. She was dressed in a jacket and pair of trousers she must have acquired from one of the guards (or, more likely, stolen from the guardroom), and a pair of boots that looked slightly too big for her. She was carrying a bag. He gawped at her.

"You - you... what are you doing?"

"I'm going with you," she said simply, stepping into his room.

"You can't!" he protested. "It's too dangerous. I won't allow it!"

Mikage tilted her chin up. Even drawn to her full height, as she was now, she barely came up to his shoulder. She looked so small and fragile and yet so fiercely defiant that it almost broke his heart to look at her.

"It won't be too dangerous. You'll be with me. I'll be safer with you than I will be here all alone. Take me with you."

He looked at her, intending to explain to her exactly why she was better off staying within the nice safe confines of the castle walls, but the moment he met her eyes, the fight went out of him. Even with the possibility of a killer lurking out there, she was still probably safer with him and Crow than she would be in here with two people they definitely knew were killers. If their designs on Jack were thwarted, who was to say that Rex and Rudger wouldn't try to use her as a hostage or bargaining chip? He sighed and looked away.

"If you order me, I have to do it," he said.

"I thought so," she said. She touched his arm timidly. "You aren't really sorry I'm coming, are you?"

He was rescued from having to answer that complex question by the arrival of Crow. He was brandishing a bottle of reddish fluid.

"I got it!" he said. "That was easy. Hey, what's she doing here?"

"She's coming with us," said Ushio. "Got a problem with that?"

Crow looked from Mikage to Ushio and back again.

"Nope. No problem," he said. "Why would I have a problem?"

"Good," said Mikage. "When are we leaving?"

"Now," said Crow. "I've already explained to Yusei where we're going, so he'll cover our tracks for us as long as he can. Of course, it would be easier if we weren't dragging her along with us..."

"No one will notice I'm gone," she said quietly.

"If you say so," said Crow with a shrug. "Anyway, we'd better go. I told Rudger someone in the library was looking for him, and when he finds out I lied..."

"Right," said Ushio, shouldering his bag. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

They marched away to the stables, Mikage leading the way with her head held high, Ushio trotting obediently in her wake, and Crow bringing up the rear, wondering just what he'd let himself in for.

Meanwhile, in the library, Rudger found his brother poring over a collection of letters and old scrolls. As he entered, Rex looked up from his work.

"Ah, there you are, Brother," he said. "Your timing is excellent as always. Come have a look at what I've found."

Rudger came to stand behind his brother, looking over his shoulder at what appeared to be a very old letter written on yellowed and crumbling paper. It was badly creased in spots, but the penmanship had been good enough that it was still legible now.

"What have you got?" he asked.

"Information about the heir to the throne," said Rex mildly. "Read it. I'm sure you'll find it _fascinating_."

Rudger took the note from Rex's hand and read it. He looked back at his brother.

"Is this some kind of joke?" he demanded.

"Apparently not," said Rex. "I told you that you'd find it interesting."

"It seems a little too convenient," Rudger replied. "I'll have to consult my webs to verify it."

"Please do," Rex replied. "In the meantime, I will peruse the rest of this correspondence for further clues. Still, it does put a new complexion on things, does it not? I can think of several ways we can play this..."

"Yes," said Rudger. "I can only imagine the chaos this could cause. After all this time, the old king's son turning up like this..."

* * *

Carly hummed to herself as she washed the dinner dishes. It had been too long since she'd had someone to cook for, and it felt good to have the companionship. Jack stood beside her, very carefully drying each dish as she passed it to him. She had told him that his help wasn't necessary, and that she had been drying dishes ever since she was old enough to hold a plate without dropping it, but he had simply listened silently to her and picked up the dishrag. She couldn't decide whether this was because he wanted to repay her for her help, or whether he just didn't like feeling helpless. Then again, it might just be because he didn't like being told what he could or couldn't do.

"You seem to be feeling better," she said.

"It hurts less," Jack replied. He illustrated by flexing his bad arm, showing that he had nearly his full range of motion back. "I'll be going home soon."

"But not tonight," she said.

"No, not tonight. Possibly tomorrow," he said. He cast her a look. "You weren't expecting me to stay longer, were you?"

"Not really planning," she admitted. "But you don't have to hurry away if you don't want to."

"I do have to," he said. "I have responsibilities."

"I understand, I guess..."

He turned to look at her thoughtfully before turning back to his dishes.

"It depends how I feel," he said. "I won't leave until I feel like it."

Carly scrubbed thoughtfully at a skillet as she considered this reaction.

_You won't go anywhere you don't want to. I'm starting to get your measure. You'd be gone already if you didn't like being here with me..._

"Tell me something about your home," she said.

"I already told you something. What else do you want to know?"

"Don't you have any friends there, or family or anyone back there? Someone who might come looking for you? They're bound to be worried about you."

Jack was silent for such a long time that Carly thought he wasn't going to answer.

"There might be a few people," he admitted. "Yusei, Crow, and Kiryu - they'll worry. And probably Martha."

Carly tried not to let her face betray her feelings, but she guessed by Jack's raised eyebrow that she wasn't doing a good job of it. She blushed and scrubbed fiercely at the pot.

"Martha was my nursemaid," he informed her. "She raised me after my parents died."

"Oh. Oh!" she said. "A nursemaid! Right. I get it! Um... I mean, wow. I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

Jack shrugged. "I don't remember them."

"At least you have someone," said Carly quietly to the dishwater. "You're lucky."

"I might be," he agreed.

"Tell me about your friends," she encouraged, glad to have a different subject to skip to.

"You ask a lot of questions," he said.

"I want to know things! I've never been outside this village my whole life. All I ever do is read about things in these books - I want to know what else is out there!"

"I see," said Jack. "Fine. Ask questions, then."

"Well... those guys you mentioned. Crow and..."

"Yusei and Kiryu. We grew up together - earned our knighthood together. Crow was a thief before the king pardoned him and he decided to serve him out of gratitude. Yusei was a war orphan - his parents were nobles, so he was sent to the court to be raised as a knight. Kiryu was the son of one of our soldiers." His expression turned distant. Carly got the feeling he had forgotten she was there. "Kiryu and Yusei were always very close. Kiryu is the older by a few years. I think he felt like he had to look after him. He saved Yusei's life once, during a raid - they were fighting on the castle walls, and Yusei was pushed over the edge, but Kiryu saved him..."

"He must be brave," said Carly.

"They're all brave," Jack replied. "They have to be, to manage..."

He swayed slightly on his feet, and Carly fixed him with a glare.

"You aren't well yet," she told him. "Sit down. I'll finish up."

Jack nodded and shuffled over to the nearest chair. Carly watched him, wondering if he was really going to be able to make it home tomorrow, after all. He seemed to be healing well enough, but if a little thing like washing dishes left him feeling exhausted, he would never make it back to the royal city by himself, even if he managed to borrow a horse from someone.

_He shouldn't be this weak,_ she thought worriedly. _He's had plenty of time to recover from the blood loss, and he can't be infected. I treated him for it, and I know the medicine is good..._

When she'd finished putting away the last of the dishes, she walked over to the table where he was sitting. "Lying" would have been a better word - he had his arms folded on the table top, and he was resting his head on them, staring blankly at the wall across from him. His eyes looked strangely glassy and unfocused.

"Jack, are you all right?" she asked.

"Fine," he said. "Just a headache."

Carly put her hand to his forehead and yelped.

"You're burning up!" she exclaimed.

"No, I'm not. It's cold in here."

Carly looked over at the fireplace, where the embers of her cooking fire were still putting out warmth into the already cozy kitchen.

"Something's wrong with you. I think you had better go back to bed."

He didn't react. When she tugged at his arm, he followed her blindly, stumbling into things. Carly felt her stomach clench. What in the world was happening to him? He'd been just fine when they'd started dinner, and now...

_This isn't infection. I don't know any disease that comes over someone so quickly..._

Her worries continued to escalate, along with Jack's fever. Soon he was sweating and trembling beneath a pile of blankets while Carly struggled to keep him calm and tried without success to bring his temperature down. He was raving in his fever, trying to free his arms from beneath the blankets and shouting slurred things about spiders coming to get him.

"Stop it!" Carly shouted at him. "Just calm down! There aren't any spiders, so calm down and _rest_. I am not letting you die, do you hear me? Don't you dare die now!"

She furiously pushed her sweaty hair away from her face, shoved her spectacles back up her nose, and reached for the damp cloth she had placed across his forehead, intending to replace it with one that was soaked in cold water instead of feverish sweat. Just as she was doing so, she heard a knock on the door.

"Go away!" she shouted.

Whoever it was didn't listen. Carly heard the door open, and the sound of soft footsteps crossing her creaky wooden floor. Carly threw the rag down and went to give this intruder a piece of her mind.

She reached the bedroom door and stopped dead. Standing in the middle of her kitchen was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. She was dressed in the finest of silk gowns, pure black with emerald green trim. Her hair was a glossy cascade, dark as the gown, falling well past her waist. Her eyes were a pale icy blue that seemed to glow in the dimly lit room.

"Who are you?" Carly squeaked.

"My name is Misty," the woman replied. "Some people call me the Witch of the Mists. And I have a feeling I haven't gotten here a moment too soon. Jack is here, is he not?"

Carly nodded timidly. "He's... sick."

"Let me see him."

Not knowing what else to do, and feeling more than a little intimidated by this self- assured beauty, Carly led her to the room where Jack was resting. His face was flushed, and he was breathing shallowly, with difficulty. Misty walked over and knelt by his side, running her slim white hands over his face.

"I had feared as much," she said. "He has been poisoned."

"Poisoned? You mean, that arrow...?"

"No. This is something different, I think," said Misty. "This whole kingdom is poisoned, and what you are seeing now is the result of that poison trickling down to its people. The rulers are corrupt, its religion is based on falsehoods... Good people do not survive in a climate like this for very long."

"He's not going to die. He _can't_," said Carly. "Please - you said you're a witch. Can't you do something to help him?"

"This is beyond my power," she said. "My gift is for clear sight, not for healing. He will linger for some time, but perhaps tomorrow night, perhaps the next day, he will die."

"No!" said Carly. "There has to be a way. There just has to... Isn't there anyone who can help him?"

"The court wizard could save him, but he won't. He cares for nothing but his own power, and you would never reach him before this man dies," Misty replied. "The only other one who could save him is the Crimson Goddess, and you would have better luck with the wizard than with her. She is a greedy, heartless creature who uses her power only to increase her sway over the mindless peons who worship her." Misty's voice had gone cold, shaking with fury. "You would do better to end his suffering now than to take your chances with her."

Carly shook her head. "If she's the only chance I've got, then she's the one I need to talk to. I'll find her and _make_ her help, if I have to drag her here by the hair!"

"You have a brave heart," said Misty. "I wish to see this kingdom rid of its corruption. Saving this man will help me in that. If you wish to chance speaking to the Goddess, I will stay here and tend to him. You have my word that no harm will come to him as long as I am with him."

"Thanks," said Carly. "I'll be back soon. Count on it!"

Then, before she could lose her nerve, she hurried out the door.

* * *

A man walked the halls of the temple. Unlike the other worshipers, his robes were not plain red, but elaborately embroidered with gold thread. Wherever he passed, lesser acolytes bowed to him and moved out of his path. He swept past them without looking at them and let himself into his private chambers.

Once inside, he removed his velvet robes and tossed them aside. Splendid as they were, they were too heavy to be truly comfortable in warm weather like this, and he valued his comfort. A look at his rooms confirmed that fact. The rest of the Goddess's disciples lived lives of monk- like simplicity, and most of them believed that the chief priest did the same. None of them ever passed the threshold of his sanctum sanctorum, save for a pair of mute servants who could never tell anyone what they had seen within his rooms. One of them was there now, picking up his robe and folding it carefully.

"Bring me a drink," the priest ordered.

His servant bowed and scurried away. Satisfied, the priest strode through his antechamber - a bare room he used as a blind to keep anyone from seeing what lay in the rooms beyond - and let himself into his sitting room. Here was a room fit for any noble, even a king. There was carpeting so thick that even the heaviest of footfalls was muffled, furniture made of exotic woods and covered in gilding and fine fabrics, elaborate tapestries, exquisite works of art, all of it piled together in a glorious jumble. There were large trunks in the corners and smaller caskets on desks and shelves, each spilling over with gold and jewels. His bedroom was similarly decorated, so crammed with treasures that there was barely room to move. There was no rhyme or reason to the arrangement; good taste mattered less to him than the pleasure he got from seeing his hard-earned gains piled around him.

_Soon I'll need a bigger room,_ he thought, as his servant picked his way through the jumble, taking care not to spill the contents of a jeweled goblet he carried. _Ah, well, very soon..._

A few years ago, all of this treasure had been nothing more than a daydream. He had been nothing more than a poor hedge wizard, barely making his way by means of a few weak spells and a lot of fast talking. He had made his living primarily by convincing people that his powers were greater than they were, by telling them that their homes and livestock had been cursed but he could remove it for a reasonable fee, by convincing girls that they could make the object of their affections love them if they bought a bit of charmed jewelry from him, and by knowing when to get out of town before people started catching on.

Then he'd found the girl. She had been the only daughter of a prosperous landowner, and had for the first ten years of her life been perfectly ordinary in every way. Then, without warning, she had developed such powerful magical gifts that it was beyond her ability to control them, and he had been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. He had persuaded her parents that he could teach her how to use her gifts properly - and he had not, really, been lying. He may not have been a powerful wizard himself, but he knew the theory well enough. He had used the girl's fear of her own strength to keep her in line, and used promises of love and acceptance to lure her onward.

It wasn't long before he'd staked himself out in the abandoned temple and set about cleaning it up. He had taken to calling himself Divine, a name he thought projected the image he was going for, and telling people that the beautiful young woman with the potent healing gifts was a certified goddess, and that he was her chief interpreter. He could keep her isolated here, and trot her out just often enough to keep everyone convinced that she was exactly as he advertised her. And in the meantime, the general populace was only too happy to hand over their treasures in exchange for the Crimson Goddess's blessings.

And now it was looking as though the chance to progress even further was in his grasp. He had thought to make a deal with the king to have worship of his Goddess made into the kingdom's official religion, with mandatory worship and offerings to follow, but now he thought he might do better than that. The rumors were that the king had disappeared, that he had perhaps died. If this was true, then it would lead to chaos, and someone strong would have to step in to take control. How easy would it be to convince the frightened people that humanity had failed them, and that it would be better to turn to an eternal Goddess?

He glanced in his mirror and raised a toast to himself before drinking deeply. However, he didn't even have time to lower the goblet before he heard someone rapping on his door. Divine set down the cup with a scowl and went to retrieve his robe. Only when he was properly attired did he go to answer the summons.

"What is it?" he asked the young acolyte on his doorstep, taking care to keep his tone polite.

"There's a woman outside," the boy replied. "She's demanding to be let in to see the Goddess."

"And did you tell her that the Goddess is resting?"

The boy nodded. "She said a real Goddess wouldn't need sleep and this is an emergency. What do I tell her?"

"If it's a real emergency, we shouldn't make her wait," said Divine thoughtfully. "You should be resting as well. Don't worry, I'll speak to her."

The boy bowed and scurried off. Divine turned and walked thoughtfully towards the temple gates. Normally he kept his young Goddess isolated during this time of night, but for an emergency, he might be willing to make an exception - not so much out of any goodness of his heart, but because someone suffering from anything that might be described as an "emergency" might not be alive in the morning, and what good would that be to him?

He opened the gate and found himself face to face with a young woman wearing a thick pair of glasses. She was glaring at him impatiently.

"Good evening," he said. "You are Carly, the bookbinder's daughter, isn't that so?" He had found that it occasionally impressed people that he could recognize them when none of them knew him - as if it took any great skill to learn the names and faces of everyone in a small village - but she didn't pay any attention.

"I need to see the Goddess," she said. "It's urgent."

"You've already been informed that she is resting. The Goddess works through the body of a mortal girl, and her avatar has the same needs as any other human. Come back in the morning when she is refreshed."

"There isn't time!" Carly protested. "My friend has been poisoned - he may not make it until morning."

"I see," said Divine. "For that, we may make an exception. I hope you are aware of the procedures?"

"Procedures?"

"The Goddess does not grant her powers to the unfaithful. You will have to prove that you are worthy."

"Can't I prove I'm worthy later?"

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that," said Divine. "It's simple, really. All you need to do is bring some small sacrifice, a minor token of your devotion. Perhaps... fifty gold pieces?"

"But-but-but... that's all the money I have!"

"That is the nature of faith," Divine told her smoothly. "Prove that you trust the Goddess to take care of you, and she will."

"But I'm not the one who needs taking care of," Carly said.

"True, but you _are_ the one asking for help. When you are ready to give up your selfish attachment to worldly things, you will receive the blessings of the Goddess - but not before."

He closed the door while she was still stammering out objections, feeling pleased with himself. For a real emergency, she would come back. She would give up what he asked of her, and be left with no choice but to rely on the mercy of the Goddess and her followers. It would be useful to have another person with some real skills on his side. Perhaps she could be persuaded to write some educational pamphlets...

Meanwhile, Carly stood outside the gate, fuming.

_Misty was right. These people are bad news,_ she thought.

She could smell a scam cooking. For all the high priest's fine words, Carly had a pretty clear idea of what he wanted. On the other hand, she'd been assured that the Goddess's powers were real, and that was the important part. If she wasn't having any luck with the lesser functionaries, she would try talking to the Goddess herself. Assuming she could get in.

The temple was well outside the town, deeply recessed into the surrounding forest. The original inhabitants had kept the area surrounding the building clear of plant life, but that had been a long time ago, and now there were trees growing right against the walls in some places. Most of them were still fairly slender, but Carly was a slender girl herself, and with some scrambling she was able to pull herself up high enough into a convenient conifer to clamber over the wall. She tumbled over the edge and landed on the ground hard enough to knock the wind out of her, and her glasses fell off and bounced away. Carly lay on the grass, struggling for breath, until her lungs finally started working again. Then she sat up gingerly, testing a few new aches and pains, and began feeling around for her missing glasses.

_When I find this Goddess, I'll ask her to prove herself by curing my bruises!_ she thought.

She found her glasses at last, their frames now slightly bent, and shoved them back in place. Then she stood up carefully and began limping toward the building.

Fortunately, it seemed as though most of the disciples had gone to bed for the night, or had locked themselves in their rooms to meditate, or whatever they did after the sun went down. At any rate, the hallways were devoid of life. Carly had only gone a few steps before the sound of her own footfalls echoing in the empty corridors caused her to slow to a nervous tiptoe.

_Now, if I were a Goddess, where would I hide?_

Probably, she decided, close to the center of the building, furthest from the humdrum outside world. Good idea in theory, but which way led to the center? The passages in this temple twisted and turned in all directions, without any immediately obvious pattern. Carly was soon hopelessly lost. Undaunted, she pressed forward, telling herself that if she kept walking, she was bound to find something sooner or later. She blundered her way into what looked like a kitchen, a couple of storerooms, and finally, some sort of sanctuary. She took a few steps through the door, taking in the simple wooden benches, a kneeling pad near the front of the room, and a row of sconces along the wall. Moonlight filtered down from a window in the ceiling, giving the room a cold gleam. Against the far wall was an altar topped with a small statue of elaborately carved wood. It was too far away and too complicated with small details for Carly to guess what it looked like, other than that it was generally human-shaped, and she walked towards it to get a better look.

If Carly had tried to imagine a Goddess, she would have imagined her looking something like Misty - tall and majestic and aloof. She wouldn't have envisioned a fresh-faced young woman no older than herself. True, the statue was dressed in a flowing gown, and was surrounded by so many flowers and twining vines that it was almost covered with them, but even with all that Carly could tell that it was meant to be an ordinary girl.

She was still pondering this phenomenon when someone else entered the room. Carly spun in place to find herself facing the same priest who had met her at the temple doors. His kindly manner was completely gone now. His eyes glittered faintly in the cold monlight.

"So," he said, "you needed to speak to the Goddess."

"I do!" she insisted.

"Of course. That's why you're here in the sanctuary," he said. "I should have known better. A poisoning, in this village. I'd have believed an attack of the flu, or maybe an accident cutting wood, but a poisoning? You have a bit too much imagination for your own good."

"I was telling the truth!" said Carly.

"Not likely," he snarled. "I know your type. You're in here trying to learn our secrets, aren't you? Well, I'll put a stop to that."

"No, wait, you've got the wrong idea," said Carly, trying to back away. She bumped into the kneeling rail and nearly fell over it. "If you'd just follow me back to my house..."

"You're not getting out that easily," said the priest.

He waved a hand, and suddenly he was flanked by two burly robed men, each carrying a hefty cudgel. They marched out of the hallway and began advancing on Carly.

"Teach this woman not to interfere," he said. "Make sure she'll never tell anything to anyone."

"N-now wait just a minute! I'm sure if we just sit down and talk about this, we can-"

Carly stopped speaking suddenly as one of the men swung a club at her, clipping the side of her head. She staggered, seeing stars, and somehow managed to keep her footing.

"Again!" the priest ordered.

Carly wanted to dodge, but her body wouldn't obey her. She watched the guard moving toward her as if in slow motion and yet she could not get away.

_Just great,_ she thought distractedly. _Now who's going to look after Jack?_

Then the club struck her, and she heard something crack, and after that she knew nothing at all.

**To Be Continued...**


	4. Choice

**Choice**

**By: SilvorMoon**

Yusei's nerves were on edge. First it had been Jack disappearing. He was still having trouble getting his mind around that. It seemed impossible that someone like him could simply be gone without a trace. Jack seemed more like the person that it would take an invading army or natural disaster, at the very least, to put an end to him. It didn't seem fitting that he should simply fade into obscurity. It left Yusei wondering uneasily whether or not there was something everyone had overlooked... but the court wizard couldn't be wrong about something like that, surely? He had never been wrong before, not about something like this.

Now Crow was gone, and that scar-faced bodyguard with him, gone on a hopeless mission to find Jack's killer. Not only that, but Lady Mikage had vanished as well, and no one could give any clues as to where she had gone. Yusei hoped she'd gone back home where it was safe, but he had a nasty feeling that she was somewhere else entirely.

_There is some method to this,_ he told himself as he paced the floor of his room. _Whatever is happening now, it isn't just about Jack's death. There is some larger pattern that I can't see yet..._

He frowned. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, an attempt to make his friend's death make sense, but he didn't think so. He hadn't made it this long as a soldier without developing a sense for when things weren't right, and right now his every nerve was telling him to be cautious.

Even so, he managed not to jump when someone knocked on his door.

"Who's there?" he called.

"It's me, Kiryu."

"Ah. Come in."

The door swung open, and Kiryu stepped inside. He was wearing an expression that Yusei couldn't quite read; at his best guess, he interpreted it as, "Well, things could be worse."

"Rex and Rudger are looking for you," he said. "They're in the library."

"Why do they want to talk to me?" Yusei asked. He normally didn't have many dealings with either of them; it was seldom they even seemed to notice he existed.

Kiryu shrugged. "They didn't tell me."

Yusei made a noise of disapproval. He had never let them order him around before, and he wasn't in the mood to let them do it now. Unfortunately, with Jack gone, there was no one else who could override them.

"All right," he said. "Do you want to come?"

"No," Kiryu replied. "I get the feeling I'm not invited."

That made Yusei frown again. When it came to hatching plans, Kiryu was usually the leader. It was strange that Yusei should be requested specifically, and Kiryu would be left out.

_Don't fall for it,_ his sixth sense was telling him.

But what could he do? He couldn't avoid them forever. He wasn't even sure what he was supposed to not be falling for. All he had to go on was a vague hunch that something was wrong somewhere. Besides, he wasn't a coward. He preferred to face his troubles squarely where he could.

"I'll be back soon, then," he said.

Kiryu gave him a smile in response, one Yusei thought was meant to be encouraging, though his eyes still had a haunted look to them.

When Yusei entered the library, he found the brothers sitting side by side at a long table, with a pile of scrolls and papers spread out in front of them. It occurred to him how rarely he saw the two of them side by side, and how different they were - Rudger with his blond hair and tanned skin and powerful muscles, looking more like a soldier than a wizard, and Rex with his pale skin and silvery hair. It was only when they were together that Yusei could see how alike they were, in the shapes of their faces and their hands. Just now, they were wearing identical expressions of smug triumph which Yusei did not like.

"You wanted to speak to me?" he inquired.

"Yes," said Rex. "We have been doing some most instructional reading. You might find some of it interesting."

Yusei remained mute, wondering what this was leading up to.

"Before we go any further," Rex continued, "I thought I would offer you a chance to confess."

"Confess to what?" Yusei demanded. "I have nothing to confess."

"You will soon," said Rudger.

"Come now, Yusei," said Rex. "We already know the truth. You might as well speak out. It will save you difficulty in the long run. We can work together on this, if you'll let us."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Yusei.

"You do," said Rex. He leaned forward, looking directly into Yusei's eyes. "We know that you killed the king."

Yusei went very still. Of all the things he had been half-imagining, this was the furthest possibility from his mind. He couldn't even seem to formulate a denial; it was too ridiculous.

"We know you had the opportunity. You knew he was going out alone, and exactly where he was going," Rex went on calmly.

"That doesn't prove anything," said Yusei. "Jack was my friend. I had no reason to kill him."

"You did," said Rudger. "A very good reason. You did it because he's not the rightful king. You are."

There was a silence. Yusei looked from one man's face to the other, trying to find some clue as to what was going on.

"That isn't true," he said at last. "My parents were the Lord and Lady of the Western Province."

"That is what everyone believes," said Rex, "but these papers prove otherwise. Your father was the king. He was afraid that the castle would be invaded during the wars, and he sent you to a distant province in hopes that you would be kept out of harm's way. The couple that took you in was instructed to return you once the fighting was over, but their home was razed and both of them were killed. Since they were both sworn to utmost secrecy, no one realized that you were not one of their children. But the evidence has been here in this room all the time. You might not have wanted to challenge an established ruler, but if he were to simply disappear..."

Yusei slammed his fist on the table. "_I did not kill Jack_. I am not the king's son, and even if I was, I wouldn't want the job."

"That's easy for you to say now," said Rudger. "Frankly, though, we have nothing but your word on that."

Yusei began to object, and then stopped. Both men were still looking at him with placid expressions, their lips fixed in identical smug smiles. Their eyes glittered with a light of victory.

_They know,_ Yusei realized, with a sinking feeling. They weren't accusing him of anything - they knew full well that he hadn't known before this moment that he was the king's lost son. They definitely knew he hadn't killed anybody. They weren't trying to get a confession out of him; they were telling him what part to play.

"Just tell me one thing," he said. "Who really killed Jack? Was it you?"

"No," said Rudger. "It was some other fool. What difference does it make?"

"I see," said Yusei. He clenched his fists, finding himself nearly overcome by the urge to drive them into the faces of the two men who were still calmly watching him. "I'll tell you this, then. You can believe whatever you like, but I did not kill Jack and I will not be king."

"You will," said Rex. "If you do not, we will air this information to the whole kingdom, and make sure everyone knows who is responsible for the death of their great leader, and then you will die in great discomfort. None of us want that, I'm certain."

"I don't know anything about being a king."

"You'll have help," Rudger rumbled.

"I can imagine," said Yusei. Mentally, he translated: they planned to use him as a puppet, carrying out their orders under threat of torture if he disobeyed. He stood up. "Are you done?"

"That depends," Rex replied. "Are you going to cooperate?"

"What do you think?" said Yusei, and left the room.

He returned to his barracks to find that Kiryu was still there, apparently waiting for him to come back. He looked up hopefully as Yusei let himself in and dropped tiredly onto the edge of his bed.

"What did they want?" Kiryu asked.

"They want me to be king," said Yusei simply.

Kiryu blinked. "But... isn't that a good thing?"

Yusei took a breath and let it come rushing out. "You would think."

* * *

They had not made very good time. Crow had borrowed horses from the stables, thinking it would make the journey go by faster, but he hadn't reckoned on the fact that Mikage was not used to riding anything other than her placid palfrey, and had never used anything but a sidesaddle. Trying to manage one of the large and spirited chargers used by the knights involved a certain amount of difficulty on her part, and Crow wanted to turn around and send her home. He was dismayed to find himself outmatched; Mikage would not be talked down, and Ushio took her side, so they had no choice but to proceed at a crawl until she began to get the feel for what she was doing. Fortunately, she caught on fairly quickly, and if she was feeling the strain from sitting astride instead of sidesaddle, she had the wisdom not to mention it.

The other thing that slowed them down was that Crow insisted on charting a meandering course, searching the ground for any signs that Jack had passed that way before them. They only had the vaguest idea where he was now, as Crow pointed out, and they would waste more time jumping to conclusions and running in the wrong direction than they would by taking their time to make sure they were following his trail.

By the time the sun began to set, they were still deep in the forest, and Crow declared he could no longer see the ground clearly enough to proceed. They called a halt and began to set up a camp for the night.

"Clear us a place to sleep," said Crow, as he started into the trees. "I'll get us some firewood."

Ushio nodded and dismounted, hitching his horse to a convenient tree. Behind him, he could hear Mikage attempting to get down as well. He hurried to give her a hand. She was so stiff from the long ride that he ended up having to lift her down from the saddle. She staggered a little as she attempted to get the feel of walking again.

"Ouch," she said. "I'm all right, really..."

"You'll be fine," Ushio hastened to assure her. "Just walk around a little - you'll loosen up in no time."

She gave him a brave smile. "Is there something I can do to be helpful?"

"Er... yeah, can you clear away some of those leaves and stuff on the ground so we can build a campfire?"

She nodded and knelt in the middle of the clearing to begin brushing away the debris. Satisfied that she was not going to strain herself any more than was strictly necessary, Ushio prowled the perimeter of the camp, ridding the area of sticks and rocks so they would have a place to sleep. He was unrolling the bedding when Crow returned with an armload of firewood. He raised an eyebrow at Ushio, who shrugged in return.

"We're close," said Crow, as he dumped the sticks onto the ground. "There's a stream near here, and I stopped for a drink and found this beside it."

He took something that had been tucked under his belt and handed it to Ushio. It was an arrow, liberally smeared with dry blood. Mikage looked at it and gasped softly.

"Too dark to tell what happened," said Crow, "but there definitely wasn't a body, and no sign of anything being dragged, so he probably walked away on his own. The ground is soft near the water, so we'll probably still be able to find some prints."

"So he really isn't dead," said Mikage, sighing with relief.

"He was still alive a while ago, anyway," Crow agreed. "Though this arrow did some damage, so I don't know what kind of shape we're going to find him in."

"If we thought he was in good shape, we wouldn't be doing this," Ushio muttered.

Crow ignored him. "Anyway, we've got a big day tomorrow, so we'd better catch a few winks while we can. I want to be moving again by sunup. Want me to take first watch?"

"I'll do it," said Ushio.

"Suit yourself," said Crow. He rose and stretched, ambling towards the bedding. "Wake me at midnight, then."

He tucked himself under his blanket, and within moments, he was snoring peacefully. Mikage followed his example, though it took her several minutes of tossing and turning on the rough ground before she finally lay still. Ushio watched her with concern until he was convinced that she was asleep. Only then did he find himself a seat leaning against a convenient pine tree, feeding twigs into the fire and contemplating his place in life. His primary conclusion was that he was a total sap to let himself be talked into this at all. He should have just stayed at the castle, or better yet, escorted Mikage back home, and left this business to the king's knights...

Mikage got up. Ushio looked up in surprise as she stood and made her way over to the tree to sit down next to him.

"Can't sleep?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "Too tired to sleep. I ache all over."

"Stay here next to the fire for a while. Maybe you'll feel better if you're warm."

"It is a little chilly tonight," she agreed.

He took his cue and shrugged off his cloak, draping it over her shoulders. She gave him a smile before turning her attention to the fire, warming her hands at the flames. He said nothing, simply watching the way the warm light illuminated her face and hair. She was the one who broke the silence.

"Ushio," she said, "do you think I'm useless?"

"What? No!" he blurted. "You're not useless! You - you're brave and smart and, and..."

"But what have I ever done?" she asked. "All I'm doing now is slowing you both down."

"It's not your fault," he said. "It's just nobody ever let you do anything. And that's why we've got to make this work. You... you're going to make a really good queen someday."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely positive! No doubt about it!"

She smiled. "I'll do my best, then."

He avoided her gaze, hoping that he wasn't blushing. "Well, you know, I've been guarding you for a long time. I ought to know, if anyone does. And I say you could do anything you wanted to, if someone gave you a chance. I mean, look at you now - you're out here trying to save the king. That takes courage. Some people would have wanted to go straight back home... _I_ wanted to go straight back home," he admitted.

"Not you," she insisted. "You wouldn't."

"I was afraid something would happen to you. If it was just me, I wouldn't care, but I can't let anything hurt you."

"I wasn't that brave," she said. "I knew I'd be safe with you. Besides, I was afraid to stay in the castle. I'm probably safer here than I was there."

"Everything will be okay," he promised. "We'll get the king back and we'll get rid of those scheming brothers and everything will go back to the way it was."

"Yes. I suppose you're right," she agreed, staring moodily into the flames.

Ushio looked at her worriedly. "Mikage? Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," she said. "Only... when I'm married, you'll still stay, right? You won't leave me by myself?"

"You won't be alone," he said.

"All the same, promise me," she said. "It's been so hard, being in a strange city so far from home, and all my friends and family are miles away, and Jack has been good to me but I barely know him..."

"I promise," he said. "As long as you need me, I'll be around."

"Thank you," she said. "And thank you for listening to me. I feel better now."

"I, well, um... Well, you know, anything for you!"

"Mm," she said, and rested her head against his shoulder.

Ushio froze, uncertain how to handle this. When she didn't move after a minute or two, he began to very slowly put his arm around her. She didn't react; it appeared she had finally fallen asleep. Ushio gave a relieved sigh, grinning foolishly. Just for the moment, at least, everything was all right.

Some hours later, Crow opened his eyes and wondered why no one had wakened him for his turn to watch. A brief inspection of the campground showed that both of his traveling companions were sound asleep, still leaning against each other, while the fire had died down to embers. Crow sighed in annoyance and started to go wake Ushio up so he could tell him what he thought of him for falling asleep on the job. Halfway across the campground, however, he stopped and took a good look.

_Huh. So that's how it is._

Silently, he turned and walked into the forest to search for some fresh firewood. Come morning, if he was lucky, they would find Jack, and when they did... Well, Crow didn't know much about romance. He'd never really felt that way about anyone himself, but it seemed to him that it was kindest just to let these two have their time.

* * *

It was dark. Was it still night time? It must be, so why was Carly awake? She twitched a little, feeling groggy and weak, as though she were getting over a fever. She wondered if she had been sick; she couldn't seem to remember...

Gradually, it dawned on her that she was not in her home. The mattress she was lying on was softer than her own, and she couldn't hear the familiar forest sounds that usually surrounded her house. The air around her was heavy with the scent of herbs and flowers, so thick it nearly made her sneeze. She attempted to sit up and open her eyes, but she felt weak and uncoordinated, and the best she could do was blink blearily up at the ceiling. The room was as dark as she had thought it was, though she could make out a faint source of light somewhere, somewhere beyond her field of vision. She rubbed at her eyes, realizing belatedly that her glasses were missing.

"Lie still," a voice commanded. It was female, low for a woman's voice, and entirely unfamiliar. "You are still healing. Are you in any pain?"

"No," said Carly. "Where are my glasses? I can't see..."

She heard the sound of footsteps approaching her, and then someone slipped her glasses back into place. The world snapped into focus, and she could see that she was lying in a stone room, one that reminded her strongly of the hedgewitch's shop. Where she was lying, there was a bed, a bedside table, and a wooden wardrobe, all new and of good quality. On the other side of the room were several shelves and a sizeable workbench, covered with a wide variety of implements for mixing and preparing medicines. The ceiling was hung with row after row of dried herbs and flowers. A single candle burned on the work table, casting just enough light that Carly could make out the face of her companion.

It was a young woman of about Carly's own age, with slightly untidy red hair caught back with a cloth band, and almond-shaped brown eyes. Her face was composed into a serious expression that could just have been because she was concerned about Carly's well-being, but she expected the girl looked that way all of the time. She was wearing a simple red dress, clean and well-made but in no way elaborate. Carly recognized her instantly.

"You - you're the Goddess!" she blurted.

The young woman raised an eyebrow at her.

"Obviously not fully recovered," she said. She frowned. "Though you shouldn't be this disoriented. Perhaps I did something wrong..."

Carly blinked. "So, you're not her? But you look just like her!"

"My name is Aki," the young woman replied. "I'm a healer - only a student, really. Definitely not a goddess."

"But..." Carly began, and let it drop. She changed tactics. "Do you know where to find the Crimson Goddess, then? It's really important."

"I don't know anything a Crimson Goddess."

"How could you miss her? They shout about her at every street corner," said Carly.

Aki lowered her eyes. "I don't go outside the temple very often."

"You don't..." Carly repeated, and stopped. Things were starting to slip into a different perspective. "But I bet people come in here to be healed, don't they?"

"They go to my workroom," said Aki. "Divine says it is important to practice my skills on real people, so he brings them to me so I can gain experience."

"Yeah, I'll just bet he does," Carly replied. "He didn't bring me to you, did he?"

Aki shook her head. "No. I was taking a walk." She looked slightly guilty. "I'm not supposed to go out on my own, but sometimes I slip out after Divine has gone to sleep. I found you lying unconscious beside the road and brought you back here. You were nearly dead, but you should be fine now."

"Thank you," said Carly gratefully.

"How in the world did you get in that state? Were you robbed?"

"Not exactly," Carly replied. She gave Aki a considering look. "How long did it take to fix me?"

"Quite a while. Nearly fifteen minutes. You were in a bad way."

"I see," said Carly, a little faintly. In her experience, healing something simple like a fractured arm by raw magic could take an hour or more even for someone moderately skilled. Healing someone who had been beaten nearly to death in only fifteen minutes was a feat of astonishing power.

_And she thinks she's just a student!_ thought Carly in amazement.

Now that her head was beginning to clear a little, she was starting to get a feel for what was going on here. Someone, probably the priest in the glittery robe she'd spoken to earlier, had found an untrained girl with incredible magical powers, and had installed her in this temple under the guise of teaching her. He kept her locked away inside, hidden from the eyes of everyone else except during the times when he could observe and control her movements. He charged exorbitant fees for people to be healed, justifying the cost by saying they were fortunate to be seeing a genuine goddess, when all they were getting was a teenaged girl with a magical knack. The priest was probably getting filthy rich, all while duping everyone around him, and this poor girl most of all. No wonder he'd been angry when he'd found Carly snooping around in his temple - he'd been sure she was about to give away his scam.

"Tell me," said Carly, to test her theory, "do you ever take money for doing healings?"

"Of course not," said Aki, sounding offended. "I told you, I'm only a student. I do this for free so I can hone my talents. Divine takes all the really difficult cases."

"Right," said Carly. She was surprised to feel a stab of pity for this girl. To be alone here, without family or friends, and to be lied to on top of it... that was hard. But she couldn't let herself be distracted now; Jack's well-being was the most important thing at the moment. "Listen, I'm really, really grateful you helped me, but there's someone else who needs help even more than I do. Can you go to him? Please?"

Aki looked uncomfortable. "I can't - I'm not supposed to go out..."

"Why not?"

"Because, people might react badly."

"How?" Carly demanded.

"They're not safe," Aki admitted. "Divine keeps my powers under control for me. If I ever try to use them outside this protected space he made for me, I might hurt someone." She looked downcast. "It's happened before. That's why my parents gave me into Divine's care."

Carly nodded slowly as another piece of the puzzle fell into place. "Have you tried it since then?"

"No. Divine says I'm not ready yet."

"You've probably improved more than you think, in all this time," said Carly convincingly. "Please. My friend has been poisoned - he might be dying right now. There's no time to ask anyone else. It's going to have to be you. _Please._"

Aki looked hesitant, her eyes dark with fear. Carly reached out and touched her hand.

"Come on," she said. "Give it a try. You can't make things worse."

She managed a faint smile. "There is that."

Carly levered herself into a sitting position. Her head really did feel better; she had absolutely no doubts that Aki could save Jack if she wanted to. She got to her feet and headed for the door, and then stopped, looking embarrassed.

"Which way is out, anyway?"

"Just a minute. I'll show you," said Aki.

She blew out her candle, leaving the room lit only by moonlight, and picked up a bag, which she filled with several things from the shelves. When she had finished, she led Carly out into the hallway. She seemed to know her way through the twisting passages of the temple well, and walked without hesitation towards a staircase and down to the next floor. She slowed her pace a bit when she reached the landing, and Carly got the impression that she was having second thoughts. By the time they came close to the front door, Carly had taken her wrist and was all but dragging her to the gates.

"You don't think your friend Divine is going to catch us, do you?" Carly whispered.

Aki shook her head. "He comes to visit me sometimes in the evenings, but he always goes directly back to his rooms after... He stays in his room this time of night."

Carly frowned, guessing what was in that pause. Growing up in a small town with plenty of rough country men hanging around, she had a pretty good idea of what men and women did when they were alone together - through overheard conversations, anyway, even if she hadn't gotten around to trying it herself.

_She probably thinks he loves her..._

One thing was clear in her mind: the Crimson Goddess was definitely not the monster that Misty had painted her to be.

When they reached the gate, Aki hesitated, looking back over her shoulder as though expecting someone to burst out of the temple and chase her down. Everything remained silent. She pushed the gate open, and the two women passed through. The gate swung silently shut behind them.

They walked. Carly wanted to set a swifter pace - she would have run, if she could have - but her new companion was walking as though in a daze, staring at everything as though she'd never seen it before. The further she got from the temple, the more dazed she seemed.

"I haven't been this far from home since I was only ten years old," she admitted.

"We haven't got far to go," Carly assured her. Well, it wasn't far, compared to, say, how long they would have to travel to get to the capital city.

"You live all the way out here? With all these trees?"

"Yeah. Back in the woods. It's quiet there."

"If it were me," said Aki, "I would go live in the city."

"You can do it, someday," Carly told her.

"Yes. When I'm strong enough, I'll go out on my own. I want that time to come soon." Aki turned and smiled suddenly at Carly. "Thank you for coming to get me. I don't know if I would have had the courage to leave by myself."

Carly found herself blushing. "Oh, well, um... Any time! You can come visit me again, if you want."

"Perhaps I will."

They reached Carly's cabin, and Carly showed Aki into the room where Jack was resting. Misty was still there, keeping watch over him, and she looked up sharply when she saw that Carly was not returning alone.

"Who is this?" she asked.

"This is Aki. She's going to fix Jack... I hope," Carly replied.

Misty raised an eyebrow. "I would be interested in hearing how you managed to convince her to do that."

Carly shrugged. "I asked her nicely."

Aki, meanwhile, had walked directly to Jack's side and was busily examining him, checking his pulse rate and raising his eyelids to look at his pupils.

"This is strong," she said. "What is it? Do you know?"

"It was a spider," said Misty, "but I believe it has been magically enhanced."

Aki frowned. "Spiders are bad at the best of times. Their venom can linger for days, sometimes, before the damage starts to show. He has probably had this in his system for a long time already. I'm going to need help. Carly, do you have any honey?"

"Er... yes?" Carly replied.

Aki took out a pouch full of herbs and a bottle of some sort of crystals and passed them to Carly.

"Grind these very fine and put them in a pot of water mixed with a cup of honey, and boil it until it thickens. Make him swallow as much of it as you can. That will neutralize the poison so it won't damage him any further. I will do what I can to keep him stable until then."

Carly nodded and headed for the kitchen, clutching the medicine. Misty gave Aki a doubtful look before getting up and following. She closed the door behind her, leaving Aki to her healing. Once they were alone together, Misty looked at Carly and folded her arms across her chest.

"I would like an explanation."

"So would I," said Carly. She dumped the herbs and powder into the mortar she used for mixing ink and began grinding them. "You told me that the Crimson Goddess was heartless."

"She is," said Misty frostily. "She is the reason why my brother is dead."

Carly dropped the pestle. "What?"

"I had a younger brother... Toby. He had powers, just as I do," said Misty slowly. "We lived near the borders, where there was unrest for many years, even after the big wars ended. Toby wanted to use his magic to help protect our village. I told him that he was too young, but he was the only other one in the village besides myself with the gift, and he insisted on doing his part. He was badly injured, and became infected. Our local healers could do nothing for him."

"So you took him to the Goddess?"

"I tried," said Misty. "We had to move him in a wagon. It was a long and difficult journey. When we finally reached the temple, he was exhausted and too sick to move. The high priest told us that the Goddess wouldn't save his life unless we were willing to make a sacrifice." Her eyes darkened. "He said that because Toby would have been heir to our father's land, that we should offer up a portion of it in exchange for his life. I couldn't give the promise myself - I had to send a messenger home to my parents to ask their permission. Toby died before the messenger returned."

"I'm... really sorry," said Carly, lost for words. "That really is awful, but... it wasn't Aki's fault. She didn't even know."

"How could she not know?" Misty demanded. "She's the Goddess, isn't she?"

Carly shook her head. "Not exactly."

Misty raised an eyebrow. "How can she _not exactly_ be a Goddess?"

"Everyone thinks she's one, but she's not," said Carly. As the water and honey mixture boiled, she filled Misty in on everything she knew and surmised about the Crimson Goddess cult. Misty listened, her expression first skeptical, and then slowly more interested.

"...so she's really as much of a victim as anybody," Carly finished.

"I see," said Misty slowly. "If what you are saying is true, then I have been misguided. When my brother died, I promised myself that I would not rest until I had seen this kingdom cleansed of its corruption. I had meant to start with the government, but I think I need to investigate this first..."

Then she was gone. Carly stared - one minute, there had been a woman in her kitchen, and then there was mist, and then there was nothing at all.

_I guess she really is a witch,_ she decided.

Interesting as that was, there were more important things to worry about. She turned her attention to the stuff in the pot, which had by this time thickened into a sticky red syrup. She let some of it trickle from her spoon, wondering if it was ready or not. She decided that if it got any thicker, Jack wouldn't be able to swallow it, so she took the pot off the stove and poured the sticky stuff into a bowl, which she carried back into the bedroom where Jack was resting. Aki was still sitting where she'd left her, eyes closed, hands folded loosely in her lap. A faint aura of red light surrounded her. Similar red lights were flickering across Jack's skin, as though a fire was shining on him. Carly began to ask whether or not he was doing any better, but decided it was probably better not to ask. Instead, she pulled up another chair and put a spoonful of the medicine to Jack's lips.

"Go on," she whispered fiercely. "Drink it!"

She managed to get most of a spoonful down his throat without spilling too much of it, though a few drops trickled down his cheek to stain the pillows. However, the syrup must have had a powerful virtue in it, because he seemed to revive a little after the first taste. He drank the next few mouthfuls with a bit less prodding from her. She kept at him patiently until the dish was nearly empty, and Jack turned his head away, apparently falling into a deeper sleep. The red lights went out, and Aki opened her eyes.

"Did it work?" asked Carly.

Aki nodded slowly. "He will live. He will sleep a little while longer while he finishes healing, and then he will be completely well."

Carly gave a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you so much. I knew you could do it..."

"You're welcome," said Aki, giving her a small smile. "It wasn't as hard as I thought." She stood up and began walking towards the door. "I should go home now, before someone misses me... and you should rest. You look tired."

Without waiting for a reply, she left the room. Carly stared after her.

_I guess she really doesn't know much about people,_ she thought. It probably came from living locked in a temple and really only dealing with one person all her life.

But that didn't matter to her now. She knew that Aki was right - she should probably be resting - but she didn't feel like it. She turned her chair backwards so she could fold her arms across its back and prop her chin on them. Sitting there like that, watching Jack sleep, was almost as relaxing as sleeping herself. He looked surprisingly peaceful, as though he had forgotten all the things that worried him. She wondered if he ever looked that way when he was awake...

Meanwhile, Aki stood in the forest, gazing up at the shafts of moonlight that fell through the branches of the trees. Despite what Divine had said about her needing the daylight to restore her strength, she found that she preferred the night. Day was when she worked and studied, but the night was her own time, a few hours that even Divine didn't want from her. She stood breathing the pine-scented air, feeling her strength returning to her. Healing a man who had been so badly poisoned had been challenging, but not nearly so difficult as she had expected. It had certainly been no more difficult than it would have been inside the confines of the temple.

_I should tell Divine. He will be pleased to know that I can start going outside again. I'm sure I could do much more if I didn't need his supervision all the time. Maybe I could even go home to see my parents again soon..._

She didn't know how long she had been standing there daydreaming, but she did notice when the forest began to fill with shreds of mist that blocked out the light of the moon. She turned to face the heart of the fog and stared into it until she saw Misty step into view.

"Where have you been?" Aki asked her.

"I paid a visit to your temple. It was most enlightening," said Misty. "Have you ever been inside Divine's private rooms?"

Aki blushed, and Misty smiled slightly, amused.

"Not like that," she said gently. "I merely wondered if you'd ever seen what they look like."

"No," Aki admitted. "When he wants to speak to me, he always comes to my rooms."

"I see," said Misty. "I've seen it. I think you would be surprised."

Aki felt a faint sense of unease, and tried to shake it off. "What do you mean by that?"

"Do you ask for money when you heal someone?"

"No, of course not! I'm a student - I'm still learning..."

"And your mentor - does he ask for money as well?"

"I don't think so..."

"If you had ever been in his room, you would know differently," said Misty. "While the other acolytes in your temple live like peasants, he's living better than the king. He has more treasures than places to put them."

Aki stared. "That can't be.... Where would they come from?"

"Listen to me, Aki. Your powers are very great, greater than most magic-users could ever dream of holding. Your mentor is only a weak wizard, but he has a cunning mind. He has isolated you from anyone who might give you any information he doesn't want you to know. He touts you as a Goddess to the outside world, and demands sacrifices from anyone who comes for your help." She looked at Aki defiantly. "I couldn't pay the price. That is why my brother is dead."

Aki began backing away from her. "No... That's not possible!"

"Come see for yourself, then," Misty challenged. "Follow me. I'll show you the truth."

She took Aki's wrist in a strong grip and pulled her, and Aki could not help but let herself be pulled into a thick blanket of mist. It closed around her until she could see nothing, not even the hand that drew her forwards, and her mouth was full of the metallic taste of the fog. She blinked reflexively, feeling droplets clinging to her eyelashes and coalescing on her skin. Then the air cleared, and she found herself standing safe and dry in her own familiar herb garden. Misty released her arm.

"Here," she said. "I have business with this Divine of yours. I will give you a chance to learn the truth from him first, if you wish."

"I trust Divine," she said firmly. "He's never been anything but kind to me."

"Then speak to him. I will wait, but not for long."

Aki hesitated. For all her bold words, she found that she really was a little bit afraid of what she might find if she followed Misty's advice. Why would this strange woman lie to her when it would be so easy to ascertain the truth? And yet, she couldn't believe that someone who had always been so gentle towards her could be using her that way. He _loved_ her. He had told her so many times, and she'd never seen any reason not to believe him. But if what Misty said was true...

_No, it can't be true. Divine will have an explanation._

She opened the garden door and retreated back into the familiar halls of her temple. After being away from it so long, it felt both comforting and strangely constricting, as though it had shrunk while she had been away. It was hard to forget just how big the world was outside the walls of this place. One way or the other, perhaps she would leave here soon...

She found her way to Divine's door but hesitated outside it. She had never been inside the room before; Divine had told her once or twice that it wasn't a habitation fit for a lady. She had wondered a little what that meant, since her own dwelling was a simple enough thing that she couldn't imagine his room being much worse, but she'd always told herself that he simply liked his privacy. Would he be annoyed with her for disturbing his solitude? Perhaps she should wait until morning... No, Misty wouldn't wait that long. This was, she told herself, her only chance to get his side of the story and clarify things before something bad happened to him. She knocked on the door.

There was a pause so long that Aki wondered if he hadn't heard her. Perhaps he was asleep, she thought. She was wondering whether to knock again when he finally opened the door. She could smell wine on his breath. His normally pale face was flushed, but his eyes were bright and filled with excitement.

"Aki! Perfect timing - you're just who I wanted to see," he said. "I have good news for you."

"What kind of news?"

"Just the kind of news I've been hoping for," he said.

He began leading her into his room - which, she was relieved to see, was a simple cell like the ones used by all the other temple residents. It had doors leading off of it on either side, which most of the others didn't, but surely he was entitled to a little extra space to work. Divine escorted her to a chair and drew it back for her, as though she were a grand lady. She was happy enough to sit down and let him explain matters to her.

"I suppose you haven't heard the rumors about the king," he said to her, as he paced the floor. "They've been saying that he's disappeared. They say he went on a hunting trip and never returned."

"Is that true?"

"It's completely true," said Divine. "I've been scrying for him, and I can say with certainty that it's true that he'll never be returning. And that means a wonderful opportunity for us..." His face broke into a brilliant smile. "Aki, how would you like to go live in the capital city?"

Aki brightened immediately, her worries forgotten. "I would love to."

"Good, because that's where we're going next. I have such big plans for you, Aki..."

"What kind of plans?" she asked. And what, she wondered, did these plans have to do with the king's disappearance?

"Plans to put this kingdom to rights," said Divine. "After all these years of war, we're finally going to bring back peace. The true king's son vanished, and the new king has been poisoned - he'll be dead by morning, and he has no legitimate heirs. There will be turmoil, Aki - probably civil war - unless someone stops it. You can do it, though. This will be your greatest work ever: to heal this entire kingdom."

Aki was quiet for a long time. At last, she said, "Why don't you ask me to heal the king?"

Divine's ardent expression flickered briefly. "He's beyond help. Even you couldn't save him now, even if you could reach him in time. Now is the time to make the best of a bad situation."

"No," she said, feeling the weight of certainty settle over her. "I can't."

"Of course you can. You've trained very hard for this, and I'll be there to help you."

"That isn't it," said Aki. "I can't do as you say because the king isn't going to die."

"What?"

"He isn't," Aki repeated. "He isn't very far from here. He's in this village, and he won't die because I healed him."

Divine's face went blank. "You couldn't have. How could you...?"

"I went for a walk," said Aki, still very calm, "and I found a girl lying beside the road with her skull broken. When I healed her, she told me that she had come to ask my help to heal someone who had been poisoned and had only a few hours to live. How did she get hurt that badly this close to our temple?"

The answer to that question clearly wasn't in Divine's script. Aki watched his eyes flicker as he scrambled for an answer. "How would I know the answer to that? It could have been anything - a robber, or..."

He might have come up with a convincing story even then, except that he was interrupted by the arrival of what was obviously a servant, carrying an empty bottle and a tray with the remains of a slice of cake on it. He looked in shock at Aki before quickly darting back into Divine's room and slamming the door, but not before Aki had gotten a glimpse of what was behind him. She turned back to Divine.

"So, it is true," she said. She should have felt angry. Instead, she felt only a leaden sadness. "You wanted the king to die so you could take his place. But it won't happen now. You're too late."

Divine looked from Aki to the door, and then back to her. His face twisted into a snarl.

"You traitor," he hissed. "After all I've done for you, this is how you repay me?"

Before she could react, his hand lashed out, striking her across the face, and she fell from her chair with blood trickling from her lip. She gave an involuntary gasp, but said nothing, simply staring up at him. She knew clearly that he had done terrible things, and planned to do more, and hoped to use her to do them, and yet the way he was looking at her made her feel that she had let him down badly. She wanted to apologize to him for her failure. She wanted to grovel at his feet and beg his forgiveness, anything to make him stop looking at her that way...

"That is quite enough of that."

Divine turned to see who had spoken. Misty was standing in the doorway, looking cool and calm as ever.

"What do you want?" Divine demanded.

"I want you to stop hitting her, first," said Misty. "That's no way to treat your Goddess."

"Who do you think you are, speaking to me like that?"

Misty ignored him. She walked over to kneel at Aki's side, and gently wiped the blood from her face.

"I think perhaps you should go now," she said. "I will take care of this."

"Don't hurt him," said Aki. "Promise me you won't hurt him."

Misty hesitated for a moment before saying, "Very well. Go, now. You probably don't want to see this."

Aki nodded and climbed carefully to her feet. She cast a glance at Divine, who was still looking at her with raw hatred in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said. "There's nothing else I can do for you."

"What? Aki, where are you going? Come back here this instant!"

She simply cast a regretful look over her shoulder before hurrying out of the room. The sound of her sobs could be heard echoing faintly in the hallway. Divine glared at Misty.

"What have you been telling her?" he demanded. "This is all your fault, isn't it?"

"You can't blame me for what you've done," said Misty. "You've lied to her long enough."

"What business is it of yours what I tell her? She needed a teacher. No one would have given her into my care if I hadn't done a bit of fast talking. Before I reached her, she was a danger to herself and everyone around her," said Divine persuasively. "There was no one else who would have done it. She's probably saved hundreds of lives since I rescued her. Why shouldn't I want a little reward for my hard work?"

Misty's eyes flashed. "You didn't save my brother's life."

"Not every life can be saved. This is a war zone. Resources have to be apportioned fairly, and some people aren't going to get as much as they would like."

"You would have _liked_ half my family's lands," said Misty. "You would have liked to bring this entire kingdom under your thumb, if what you've been saying is true. But all that stops now."

Divine looked around nervously. His room was filling with fog - thick clouds of it that roiled across the floor and sloshed against the wall like water. The clouds rose higher as Misty advanced on him, her eyes shining pale blue in the cloudy gloom.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, backing away.

"Taking revenge," she said softly.

"You - you promised you weren't going to hurt me! I heard you!"

Misty's smile was not pleasant. "I don't need to hurt you. I just need to make you suffer."

The fog was rising swiftly now. It was already up to Divine's chest, and he raised his arms, finding that he did not like the touch of it. It was icy cold, but though Misty's arms were bare, she did not seem to notice. Panicked, he shouted the words to a spell, but all it did was make the fog roil a little faster for a moment. Misty continued to advance on him as clouds of vapor lapped beneath his chin.

"What are you going to do to me?" he asked.

"Arrange it so you'll never harm anyone ever again," said Misty. "I am going to make you as helpless as I felt the day my brother died. It is better than you deserve."

"What - what...?"

He had time for no more than that. The fog rose to cover his mouth, his nose, leaving only his frantic eyes above it, his voice stifled as though by thick blankets. Then his eyes were covered as well, and he sank out of sight. There was a muffled scream that rose higher and higher into an impossibly high-pitched shriek. The fog slipped away, disappearing through the cracks beneath the doors until it was gone entirely. So was Divine. In his place was a large black and green lizard, which stared balefully at Misty. It opened its jaws and made an attempt to make some sort of noise at her, but all that came out was a nearly inaudible hiss.

"No complaints," Misty told him. "At least this way you will be of some use, eating insects."

The lizard hissed again, thrashing in fury.

"That's enough of that sort of language. Be grateful I made a promise, or I would step on you. Now, go away."

She stomped her foot, and the lizard scuttled off, disappearing beneath a door. Misty gave a final sniff of contempt and strode away to find Aki.

After a brief exploration, she came to an herb garden near the rear of the compound - a tiny patch of land within the temple's high walls, where a few rows of leafy plants and sweet- smelling flowers. Aki was huddled in the middle of all this, apparently lost in contemplation of some small night-blooming vine, her expression distant as she gently fingered its leaves. It took her a moment to look up when Misty approached her.

"Did you kill him?" she asked.

Misty shook her head. "No. I promised."

"Thank you."

"He would have deserved it," said Misty. "Do you want to know what I did?"

"No, don't tell me. I think I would rather believe you just... sent him away."

"That is close enough to the truth. You will never see him again."

Aki gave her a stricken look before turning away. "I loved him."

"He didn't deserve it."

"I know," said Aki softly, "but I can't help it."

"What will you do now?"

"I don't know," Aki replied. "I could go home to my parents again. I really did mean to leave this place soon, even before..."

"I think it would be best if you left. There is nothing else for you here."

Aki nodded slowly. She got to her feet and walked wearily towards her rooms. Misty followed her.

"Where are you going next?" Aki asked her.

"To the capital city. There is still work for me to do before my brother's death is avenged," said Misty.

"To the capital," Aki repeated. "I always wanted to see it..."

"I believe the rest of us will be leaving in the morning," said Misty. "There is time for you to pack."

"Us?" Aki repeated. "Who else is going?"

"The king, of course," said Misty. "And his followers. A fair number of them, if I'm reading the signs right. Perhaps they might permit you to join them. I am certain the king will look kindly on you when he knows of the help you have given to him... and he will be needing a mage or two in his service soon."

"Hasn't he already got a court wizard?" Aki asked.

Misty shook her head, her smile chilly as the fog. "Not for much longer."

* * *

Yusei had not been sleeping. He stood on the castle walls, looking out over the drowsy city as the first rays of sunlight slipped over it. A faint gray mist lay over the earth, catching the light and filling the world with a dreamlike golden glow. Yusei leaned on a parapet and silently watched the first of the early risers stir into motion.

The sound of footsteps drew his attention to someone walking towards him. In the gray light of morning, Rex emerged into view like a ghost.

"Yusei," he greeted softly. "Have you resigned yourself yet?"

"No."

"You blame me for putting you in this situation," said Rex factually. He came to lean against the wall a few feet from Yusei, turning his pale gaze towards the rising sun.

"Not exactly," said Yusei. "But you aren't helping."

"Objectively, I can't fault you for being upset," Rex replied. "The situation is less than pleasing to me as well."

"Then why don't you do something about it?"

"My options, like yours, are limited."

Yusei looked at Rex from the corner of his eye. "Answer one question for me."

Rex raised an eyebrow. "What do you wish to know?"

"Did you have anything to do with my father's death?"

The reaction was immediate. Rex twitched, and for a moment Yusei thought the man was going to hit him, but he reigned himself in with a deep breath. His eyes continued to blaze as he stared at Yusei.

"Never say such a thing again," he said. "I did everything I could to save your father. Everything."

Yusei, surprised by this outburst, said nothing, but merely shrugged his shoulders in a silent apology. Rex turned his eyes back to the scenery.

"I knew your father well," he said. "Next to my brother, there was no one I cared about more. The three of us were very much like you are with Jack, Crow, and Kiryu. He was a good man... but a very poor king."

Yusei was intrigued in spite of himself. He had often wondered, in his idle moments, what his parents had been like, and even his current confusions couldn't stop him from being interested in hearing a first-hand account. It was nearly as interesting to think of Rex Goodwin as a young man, spending time with friends.

"King Fudo was a dreamer," Rex continued. "He had so many plans, so many ideas. He was always so excited by them, it was difficult not to be caught up in them. Even I had a difficult time not being blinded by his charm. He worked so hard trying to do good for the kingdom, initiating projects and making investments... Too many of them didn't pay off. I tried to dissuade him - Rudger and I both did - but by the time it became clear that there was a problem, it was already too late."

"You blame my father for the wars?"

"Not entirely," said Rex. "He did the best he could, and we did the best we could to advise him. He was simply unfortunate in that he was given a task he was not well suited for. He would have been happier as an astronomer, an alchemist, perhaps even a wizard, something where he could study and experiment to his heart's content. Instead, he was given a kingdom to experiment on, and he acted according to his nature. The fault lies in the system that would give rulership of an entire kingdom to someone for no other reason than his bloodlines. Intelligence, talent, merit, personal inclination... none of these mean anything. A man might be the laziest, most dishonest ignoramus on earth, and yet, if his father was the king, he and he alone would be considered worthy for the throne."

"Then why should I become king?" Yusei asked. "If you feel that way, give the job to someone who would be better at it."

"That would be unacceptable. The law states clearly that only one who is related to the previous king by blood may inherit."

"You're willing to break laws. Forge something."

Rex gave him a surprised look, and Yusei couldn't tell if he was horrified or impressed.

"It's not as simple as that," he said. "I wish it were. Unfortunately, people do tend to take an interest in who is ruling them."

"It's convenient that the papers showing that I'm the heir appeared just now. Strange that no one noticed before."

Rex raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying something?"

Yusei shrugged. "It's interesting. I thought you might have noticed. Where did they come from?"

"From the library," said Rex. "From the same shelf where all the other scrolls and papers were kept."

"Right in front, then, where anyone might have noticed them. But no one did, before just now."

"Hm," said Rex. "You raise a point."

"I thought so."

"I will give the matter my consideration," said Rex, turning to leave, "but in the meantime, I suggest you prepare yourself. Other circumstances notwithstanding, you're the best choice we have available."

With that, he turned and walked away. Yusei watched him go, wondering for a moment if he might actually have a point. Someone had to be king, and it wasn't as though he would have to take any real responsibility with the Goodwin brothers guiding his every move... but that temptation lasted only a moment. The last thing he wanted was to spend the rest of his life being someone's puppet. He was beginning to understand more how Jack felt about being king. How he _had_ felt. Yusei put that idea out of his mind as well. With a resolute step, he walked back inside the castle.

He needed to have a talk.

* * *

Jack woke up slowly. He had been dreaming - dark, unpleasant dreams in which spiders with human faces pursued him through a forest that never seemed to end. Even in his dream, he could feel the pain of the poison burning inside him, turning his blood to fire. If he could have, he would have lain down and let the spiders have him, anything to make the pain stop, but his dream-self would not stop moving.

Then, slowly, the dream began to change. The barren trees he had been running past had become filled with green foliage, and even their bare trunks had become covered with vines and sweet-smelling flowers. Shafts of moonlight penetrated the darkness. The monstrous spiders became smaller and fewer until they were finally gone altogether, and he found that he was walking without pain through a clearing filled with wildflowers. It had been a great relief, at first, to be somewhere safe, but he had soon grown bored with such a peaceful dream, and by degrees, he began drifting further away from it and closer to wakefulness.

When he opened his eyes, his first thought was to wonder why he had wakened in the middle of the night. Moonlight was slanting through his window, and he guessed by its angle that it was sometime after midnight. The only other source of light in the room was a candle, still lit but nearly burned out, showing only a tiny spark of flame. A short distance away, Carly was dozing in a chair. He probed his memory, finding that there was a blank space between eating dinner and waking up here. He stirred, stretched his stiffened muscles, and discovered with some surprise that it no longer hurt to move his arm. On the whole, he felt remarkably refreshed for someone who hadn't had a full night's sleep. That was suspect.

"What happened now?" he demanded.

"Erm?" said Carly, stirring to life. "Oh! You're awake! Are you all right now?"

"You tell me," he said crossly. He sat up and glared at her, and she pushed her glasses into place nervously.

"You were poisoned," she said, somewhat guiltily, as though it were a personal failing on her part. "Misty said it was a spider-bite."

"A spider. Of course it would be a spider," said Jack bitterly. Anger coursed through him - not just anger, but _annoyance_. There was no doubt in his mind how he'd ended up being bitten by a poisonous spider while safely ensconced in a clean, well-kept household. Exactly _why_ it had happened was still a question, but he intended to ask Rudger to explain it to him in detail the next time they met.

"But you're okay now," Carly hastened to assure him. "Aki says you're completely healed."

"Who is Aki?"

"The Crimson Goddess," said Carly. "Only not really."

Jack folded his arms across his chest. "Explain."

Carly explained. Jack listened to her story of his collapse and her subsequent attempts to save him. He was not sure whether to be exasperated or impressed by her exploits. Didn't she realize just how close she had come to getting herself killed? He wouldn't have believed a word of it, except that he doubted that his shoulder would have healed of its own accord in a matter of hours.

"You must be out of your mind," he said.

She looked at him blankly. "What do you mean?"

"What do I...? You broke into a temple so you could track down a goddess and demand that she come out here and heal me."

"I didn't exactly break anything. I just climbed over the wall!"

Jack sighed. "Forget it... You really are insane." Far from being insulted, Carly surprised him by grinning. "Actually, that was the most fun I've had in years! I've never had an adventure like that before. I'd do it again if I could."

_I think she's actually serious,_ thought Jack, staring at her. Despite the fact that she had nearly gotten herself killed, she didn't seem at all fazed by the experience. She was either completely crazy, or one of the most fearless people he'd ever met. Possibly both. But she hadn't seemed crazy when had been telling him about her father, or teaching him how to make ink, or tending to his wounds. Maybe you did have to be totally fearless to be a young woman living alone in the forest and carrying on a man's work.

Deciding that the conversation didn't merit continuing, he pushed away the blankets that had been piled on him and swung his feet to the floor. Now that his health had been restored, he felt as though he had been trapped indoors for months instead of only two days. He wanted desperately to go outside. Since he was not one to let anyone stop him from doing as he wished, he began to pull on his boots.

"Hey, where are you going?" Carly demanded as he began walking toward the door. "You aren't going to leave right now, are you?"

He turned to give her a look.

"It's the middle of the night," he told her. "Where would I go?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "Home?"

"I'm going for a walk," he said.

Fitting action to words, he opened the front door and stepped out of the cottage. Behind him, he could hear the frantic scrambling sounds of Carly trying to catch up to him, but he ignored it. This was her home, and she had earned the right to walk with him if she wanted to. For now, it was enough that he was breathing the cool fresh air and had some room to stretch his legs. It was a good night to be out - clear and still, with a bright moon. The scent of the pine trees was invigorating. For a moment, he felt a temptation to break into a run and just keep going, but he curbed the impulse. Instead, he began walking around the side of the cottage.

He had only gone a few steps before Carly caught up to him and fell into step alongside him. Jack gave her a guarded look, half-expecting her to start pelting him with questions again, but she remained silent. She walked just a little apart from him, so that they weren't quite within touching distance. Since the cottage and the trees held little interest for him, he found himself watching her as she trotted along beside him, hopping over roots and stray stones. She moved, he thought, more like a playful child than one of the delicate mincing ladies he was familiar with. He imagined what it would be like if he brought this graceless girl with her shabby clothes and oversized spectacles into the middle of his glittering court. The resulting image, particularly the thought of everyone else's reactions, made him smile for a moment.

_Now, why am I thinking of bringing her with me?_ he wondered. His original plan still held. In the morning, he would give her his thanks for her hospitality, and then he would strike out for home. Once he was safely back where he belonged, he could arrange a suitable reward for her. Interacting with her on any kind of social level was out of the question. And yet, he had an irritating feeling that his plans were wrong. She didn't seem to want money, or a court position, or any of the usual things the people he dealt with wanted. What she did want was a puzzle. For the moment, she seemed perfectly content to scramble along beside him, kicking up pine needles as she tried to keep pace with his long strides.

_If I didn't know better, I'd think she liked my company,_ he thought wryly. She really would have to be insane to do that. But maybe he was on the right track. He deemed it likely that having him turn up on her doorstep in the middle of the night was the only exciting thing that had ever happened to her.

_That's what it is. She just doesn't want me to leave so she won't have to go back to her boring, empty life. I'd feel that way if I were her._ Come to think of it, he did feel the same way, a bit. He had never known another woman like her. He was surprised to realize how sorry he would be to leave her behind. As foolish as her raid on the temple had been, it had also demonstrated the kind of bravery and loyalty he would have expected from one of his knights. If there had been a place for her in his world, she could have been a good friend.

They reached the back of the cottage, where a little patch of land had been claimed for a garden. Rows of plants, which Jack didn't know enough about gardening to identify, grew in tidy rows. They were showing signs of needing to be weeded; apparently Carly had been too busy worrying about him to attend to her vegetables. A woodpile, consisting mostly of sticks that could be easily broken up and hauled out of the forest, was standing against the side of the house. On an impulse, Jack walked over to it and began picking through it.

"What are you doing?" asked Carly.

Jack didn't answer her. After some searching, he managed to find a reasonably straight piece of wood, a branch slim enough that he could hold it comfortably in his hand, about two and a half feet long, tapering to a point. It was not as good as a sword, but it would do for a moment's entertainment.

"Hold very still," he told her. "Don't move a muscle."

"Why?"

"Just do as I say. Trust me."

She nodded and composed herself, watching him intently.

Jack stepped away to give himself some room, taking his place in the clear area where the garden ended and the forest hadn't quite begun, and there he stood. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself forget his surroundings and the events of the last few days. Instead, he summoned up a mental image of the practice grounds at home, with their dusty hard-packed earth and row of sparring dummies along one side. He envisioned an opponent - Yusei would do, the one person he knew who was anywhere near his level of skill - and formulated his plan of attack. Then he opened his eyes.

There was a world of difference between a clumsy stick and a perfectly balanced piece of steel honed to a razor-sharp edge, but that difference didn't matter to him. He struck out at his invisible enemy with all his strength, parrying blows and making devastating lunges, moving almost faster than the eye could follow. He smiled as he fought, a thin feral smile as sharp as the sword he was imagining he had, enjoying the feeling of movement. After the long period of stillness, he needed the feeling of pushing himself to his limits until every muscle burned. For a few minutes, everything was exactly the way it should be: the forest, the garden, the silent night sky, and himself moving through it all in a blur of power and motion. He continued his private battle until his clothing was drenched in sweat. Then, for a grand finale, he suddenly flicked his weapon at Carly, snagging the glasses from her nose and tossing them into the air, where he caught them neatly with one outstretched hand. Panting slightly, he offered them back to her.

"Wow," she said. She was ignoring his outstretched hand, her gaze fixed raptly on him. "Wow, that was amazing! Unbelievable!"

He tossed the stick back onto the woodpile. "Consider it partial payment."

"Payment?" she repeated. She stared at him blankly, seemed to remember that she wasn't wearing her glasses any longer, and fumbled to retrieve them and put them on again. "Payment for what?"

"For helping me. I have no intention of remaining in debt to you."

"Jack..."

"I'm leaving tomorrow," he said abruptly. "Don't get the wrong idea. I've only stayed here this long because I had to, not because I want to be here."

"I know," she said softly.

He turned resolutely away from her, starting towards the back door. "I have responsibilities I can't walk away from. I want everything settled between us now."

"You... you..." she spluttered angrily. "Do you think this is some kind of _business arrangement?_"

"What else do you think this is?" he snapped back at her. "Once I'm gone, I can't have anything else to do with you. I'm not part of your world, and you can't be part of mine."

"Why not?"she demanded.

He whirled on her, eyes blazing.

"Don't you understand anything?" he shouted. "_I'm already engaged._"

Even in the thin light of the moon, he could see the color going out of her face, and he knew he'd guessed right. This foolish girl had been deluding herself with romantic notions, pretending that all this was a story straight out of one of those books, pretending that he was a handsome prince who was going to fall in love with her and spirit her off to some happily-ever- after. Well, he wasn't a prince on a white horse, and there wasn't going to be any fairy-tale ending. He was a king, and kings had to be cruel to do their jobs. He was not going to make an exception for her, no matter how kind she might have been to him. Whatever came next in his life, he had no doubt that it was going to be dangerous, possibly violent, and he didn't want her involved in it. She had come too close to losing her life for his sake already.

"Oh," she said, lowering her eyes. "I... I see... Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Because it was none of your business," he said, and walked through the door, slamming it behind him.

_I hope that's gotten rid of her._ He hoped she was angry. With any luck, she'd be so infuriated by his keeping secrets and his brusque dismissal that she would hate him, which would keep her from trying anything else foolish.

His hopes were dashed when he heard the door open and shut behind him. He didn't bother to turn around to face her. If she planned to follow him, he would simply lock himself in his room until she gave up and left him alone. He wasn't expecting her to grab him by the arm and refuse to let go. He stopped and attempted to shake her off, but her grip was unshakable.

"Jack, wait..."

"There's nothing to talk about."

"If there was nothing to talk about you wouldn't be trying so hard not to talk about it!"

"That doesn't even make any sense," said Jack.

"I don't care!" said Carly. "You could have told me! You could have said something... Maybe then I wouldn't have..."

He turned away again. "Fine. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. But that still doesn't change the facts."

"Do you love her?"

"What?"

"Just tell me."

"I don't see what difference it makes."

"Please."

He made the mistake of turning to look at her, and looked away again.

"No," he said. "I don't care anything for her. I barely know her. But I don't have any choice in the matter, so it doesn't make a difference."

Carly nodded, looking somewhat less unhappy than she had before. Apparently the argument was settled, though Jack had the uneasy feeling that he'd just missed something important. He looked at her suspiciously. She was looking innocent. That was a bad sign. He wondered what he'd just agreed to.

"Does your shoulder feel better?" she asked him.

It was such a non-sequitur that it took Jack a moment to remember what she was talking about. It felt like a long time since he'd been hit by the arrow.

"It's fine," he said.

"I wondered. I didn't want you to work it open again while you were swordfighting... Are you sure you're okay?"

He sighed resignedly. "I'm _fine._"

"Show me."

He gave her a look that said he distrusted her motives, but obediently peeled his shirt off so that she could see the mark. Where there had been an ugly wound before, there was now only a star-shaped mark. Carly touched it gently, then ran her hand over his chest. He backed away.

"Haven't you been paying attention to anything I've said all night?" he said angrily.

"Yes," she said. "You're going to leave tomorrow. You're going to marry someone you don't even like, and I'm never going to see you again. That's why..."

"Don't say anything."

She shook her head. "That's why I want to make the most of the time we've got left."

"What makes you think I want anything else to do with you? Do you think I care?"

She just stared at him, her expression calm. He held her gaze as long as he could, but found that he was forced to look away. He couldn't look her in the eye and say that he felt nothing about someone who had risked everything for him, no matter what her reasons were.

"I don't want leaving to hurt you more than it already will," he said at last.

"If it's going to hurt anyway," she said, "why not?"

_She's right,_ his conscience whispered. Leaving was going to hurt both of them... but he was the only one trying to hide from it, trying to pretend that he felt nothing at all. He should have known all along that she was too brave and too honest to play those kinds of games. There was something to be said for a woman who was strong enough to understand that pain was sometimes the price you had to pay for better things, and courageous enough to pay that price. He owed her better than that. He owed _himself_ better than that.

"You have a choice, Jack," she said softly. "You can choose what you do here, tonight. It's up to you."

_A choice._ That was what he'd been asking for all along, wasn't it? Old habits drilled into him for years told him that he needed to keep pushing her away, to keep himself under control, to behave in the manner of a king. But this was his night - possibly the only night he'd ever have to do exactly what he wanted, maybe even to allow himself to feel... the feeling he'd been fighting down and rationalizing away almost since the moment he'd met her. If he had the courage, he could do it.

_I have one night._ He raised his eyes again to meet Carly's gaze, and this time he did not need to look away. _I might as well make the most of it._

**To Be Continued...**


	5. Preparations

**Preparations**

**By: SilvorMoon**

Someone who was more used to dealing with the outside world might have objected when Misty suggested that they might spend their night in front of Carly's hearth, but Aki was still too shell-shocked to raise any objections. Misty seemed to know what she was about, and at any rate the other people in the household were being silent. Misty assured her that they were both sound asleep and would not appreciate being wakened, but they would not mind having a couple of quiet guests. Aki had nodded at everything she'd said and obediently spread her cloak out on the floor in front of the fire. Misty spread her own cloak a few feet away, lay down on her side, and to all appearances, fell instantly asleep. Aki, however, lay awake, watching the light of the fire dance on the ceiling.

When she had gotten up that morning, life had been normal. She had awakened with the sun, eaten her breakfast, weeded her garden, studied the books Divine gave her to read. She practiced her magic and healed the few who came for her services. She had done everything just as she had always done it, ever since she had come to live with Divine in the temple she thought of as her home.

Tomorrow, she would wake up in someone else's home. Divine would be gone, and she would never see him again. Anyone who came to her to be healed would come expecting the attentions of a goddess, not a novice magician. For years, she had always known what the routine would be, and she'd always had someone to take care of all the thinking and worrying for her. Tomorrow, she would wake up in the home of a relative stranger, and she had no idea what she would do after that. After living inside the temple for so long, she wasn't even certain what was out there. What were the customs like? What were the laws? She didn't even know what a fair price for a loaf of bread was anymore.

_If I go out on my own, I'll never make it,_ she realized. She didn't even know where her parents lived anymore, even if she wanted to try to get a message through to them. It was slowly sinking in that her only allies in the world, if she could consider them that, were inside this building. She barely knew more than their names.

Aki shifted a little closer to the fire, suddenly cold.

_I will make it. I have to._ And then, a bit more hopefully, _After all, I'm the Goddess, right?_

She resettled herself a bit more comfortably on the hard floor and stared into the fire, trying to put her mind at rest.

When the first red rays of the sun began stealing through the window, she was still awake. That was why she was the first one to hear when someone knocked on the door.

The second person to hear was Jack. He was awake, too - awake but dreaming. He lay very still with his eyes closed, feeling more than seeing the morning light as it crept across the windowsill to spill across his bed. _Her_ bed, he corrected himself. Carly was still sound asleep, tucked against his side with one arm draped over his chest, and for now, he refused to move and waken her. He could see the future clearly, in his dream. In a few moments, Carly would wake up, and they would make love again in the warmth of the rising sun. She would make breakfast. He would help her with the household chores, and eventually, perhaps tomorrow or the next day, he would go into the village and take a job. In due time, he would marry her, and they would raise up another generation of bookbinders. It would be a peaceful life - simple, uncomplicated, wholesome. He might even be happy in it. It certainly was tempting...

"I need to get out of here," he said to himself.

"Mm?" Carly murmured. She slid her hand over his skin, but she stopped her, gripping her wrist.

"I need to go home. Now."

"Already? Why?"

"Because," he began. He would have said more, except there was a sudden knock at the front door. He raised his head to glare. "Who the hell is that?"

Carly gave a moan of aggravation and reached for her glasses. Jack took the opportunity to haul himself out of bed and begin pulling on his clothes.

By the time he reached the front door, someone had already opened it. Jack cast a glance at the unfamiliar women occupying Carly's front room, but most of his attention was taken up by the people on the doorstep. A red-haired young man was saying, "...was wondering if you could tell us if you'd seen anything..."

"Took you long enough," said Jack.

"Eh?" said Crow, stopping in mid-sentence. He stared at Jack, who was still wearing only his trousers. His gaze went from the curvaceous redhead who had answered the door, to the statuesque dark beauty standing behind her, to Carly with her ruffled hair and hastily-donned nightdress, which she had pulled on backwards. Crow grinned slowly. "Well, no _wonder_ you didn't want to come home! I'm impressed."

Jack resisted the urge to press a hand to his face.

"Shut up," he said. "It's not what it looks like."

He went to pull the door open the rest of the way, and discovered that not only was Crow there, but that surly bodyguard, and - Jack blinked - Lady Mikage as well. She appeared to have jumped to the same conclusion Crow had and was blushing furiously, looking anywhere but at him. The bodyguard was wearing a confused expression, as though he were not sure whether or not he ought to be upset about this turn of events.

"Jack?" said Carly uncertainly from behind him. "Do you know these people?"

"Unfortunately, yes," said Jack. He glared at Crow and the others and sighed. "You might as well come inside."

"Hey, this is my house! You can't just go inviting people into my house!" Carly protested.

Jack gave her a look. "I am the king. This is my land. I can invite people anywhere I want. Go put some clothes on and start making breakfast."

Carly sized up the situation and decided that this was a moment for exercising discretion. She disappeared back into her room. Jack could hear her as she rummaged around there for clean clothes, muttering savagely to herself, but he tuned her out. In a way, this was good; the distraction would make separating himself from her less awkward. He seated himself at Carly's worktable, as cool and regal as though he were lounging in his throne at home instead of in a wobbly wooden chair, apparently unconcerned that he was still wearing nothing more than an ill- fitting pair of homespun pants. Mikage glanced at him and turned quickly away, her cheeks flaming.

_Carly didn't blush,_ he thought, a bit uncharitably. Mikage was a gentlewoman, but Carly was a commoner, and probably thought nothing of watching blacksmiths and farm laborers work bare-chested on hot days. All the same, Jack was a warrior first and foremost, raised in the dirt, sweat and blood of the battlefield. He _liked_ Carly's lack of shame. What did he want with a delicate little flower who would be crushed the first time he tread too roughly?

But that was a problem that could be solved later. For now, he watched everyone settle themselves wherever they could find a comfortable resting place. Mikage gingerly took a seat on the only other available chair, while her guard stood protectively behind her, as though expecting assassins hiding behind the bookshelf. Crow leaned against the nearest wall, folding his arms over his chest. The red-haired woman lurked in a corner, watching these newcomers with a look of apprehension, and Jack wondered briefly just what she was so afraid of. The dark woman stepped behind him and gracefully draped her black cloak around his shoulders, so that he was at least somewhat decently covered. He nodded graciously in her direction, and she returned the gesture before retreating to stand beside the other girl.

"All right," said the guard gruffly. "We want explanations and we want them now. What the hell's been going on?"

"Ushio, please," Mikage murmured.

"He's right, though," said Crow. "What's been going on? What happened to you? Who are all these women?"

"I don't know who they are," Jack said. "I'd like an answer to that, myself."

"Allow me," said the dark woman. "My name is Misty, sometimes called the Witch of the Mists. I believe some of you will remember me," she added, nodding towards Mikage, who timidly nodded back. "My young friend here is named Aki, but you probably know her best as the Crimson Goddess."

Aki flushed and looked as though she would have liked to retreat into the wall. Misty laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Is she really a Goddess?" asked Crow, looking at her with interest.

"No," Aki said firmly.

"Rumors of her powers have been somewhat exaggerated," said Misty. "She is a very capable healer. With proper training she could become a formidable mage, but nothing more."

"I want to hear more about this Goddess business later," said Jack. He turned back to Crow. "But your questions come first. All I know is I was riding towards the lodge when someone fired an arrow at me." He pushed the cloak aside to show his new star-shaped scar. "I made it as far as this house before I blacked out, and the woman who lives here took care of me."

"We thought you'd been poisoned," said Crow, shooting a look at Ushio, who glowered back at him.

"He was," said Misty.

"That's why we're here," Aki offered.

Misty nodded. "The poison was a kind of spider venom of magical origin, and too powerful to be healed by normal means. Our gracious hostess was brave enough to seek out the Goddess and ask for her assistance."

"Sounds like she's had things pretty well under control," said Crow. He glanced at Jack with a raised eyebrow, and Jack met his gaze steadily, refusing to be baited.

"So we came all this way for nothing," Ushio groused.

"No, I don't think so," said Jack. "Someone wants me dead. I want to know who is still loyal to me and who isn't. If you came all this way to help me, I'm going to assume you're on my side." His expression darkened. "If Rudger has turned against me, I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"You knew it was him?" asked Crow.

"Who else would try to kill me with a magical spider?"

"Okay, right, dumb question," Crow agreed. "So what are we going to do?"

"I'm going to think about it," said Jack, which was his way of saying he didn't know yet. If it came down to a swordfight, it would have been no problem. Against a wizard, though... much as he hated to admit it, he was going to need help.

"The spider sorcerer is one of those who is corrupting the kingdom," said Misty, "but you are a good man, and a good King. My magic is at your disposal."

"Mine too," said Aki. She looked surprised by her own daring. "If I can help, I will. I have nowhere else to go..."

"I, too," said Mikage softly. "I don't know what I can do to help, but..."

"Huh," Ushio grunted. "Well, I came this far."

Jack gave him a long look, weighing the man's motives.

"Why should I trust you?" he said. "You hate me. You've made that abundantly clear. You threatened to _kill_ me once. Why should I believe you are going to be loyal to me now?"

"I'm not," he said. "But I'll do whatever Lady Mikage says. If she wants me to help, I will."

Jack considered a moment, then nodded. "I can live with that."

"So what are our plans?" asked Crow.

"I find a new court wizard. And a new advisor," said Jack. "Rudger has the power to do something like this, but Rex is the one with the brains. I'd bet anything that he's at the bottom of this mess somehow. And the penalty for regicide is death."

"How do you kill a wizard?" asked Crow.

"I believe I may be able to lend some assistance in that regard," said Misty. "I should be able to coach Aki through a few new spells if need be."

"Fine. I'll rely on you to deal with that," said Jack. "But it won't pay to underestimate Rex. He's too slippery. We can't tackle him head-on."

"It might not hurt to run some recon, first," Crow agreed. "That's no problem. We'll tell everyone we didn't find anything and smuggle you in the back way. Yusei and Kiryu will cover for you. So will Martha."

Jack almost smiled. It was silly to feel safer thinking Martha would be trusted with matters, but he had no doubt in his mind that she would think of something useful.

There was a commotion as Carly made her reappearance, fully dressed and wearing a traveling cloak and sturdy boots. There was a bag slung over her shoulder.

"Well, I'm ready," she said.

Everyone looked at her. She stared back defiantly, chin raised.

"Ready for what?" Jack asked, dreading the answer.

"Ready to go," she said. "With you. To the city."

"You are not going," he said flatly.

"Yes, I am," she said.

"I thought we agreed last night that I was leaving today and you were staying here."

"And you believed me?"

Jack glared at her. "You'll get in the way."

She set a hand on her hip and gave him a what-kind-of-idiot-are-you look. "Is that what you think I've been doing so far? Getting in the way?"

Jack had to admit she had a point. He didn't have to admit it aloud, however. He settled for giving her his best icy glare, which she met defiantly.

"You aren't getting rid of me that easily," she said.

Crow grinned. "I don't know who this girl is, but I think I like her."

Jack sighed, realizing that he was outvoted. His heart hadn't really been in it to begin with. The most selfish part of him wanted her to come along; it was only his better judgement that wanted her to stay behind where it was safe...

"You'd just follow me if I left without you, wouldn't you?"

"Uh-huh!" said Carly cheerfully.

"And just what do you think you'd do after you turned up in my castle without any explanation?"

"That's easy," she said. "I'm your new librarian."

"You are," he repeated doubtfully.

"Well, I could be."

"You aren't seriously thinking of bringing her along, are you?" asked Ushio.

Jack glared at him. "And who's going to stop me if I am? You?"

They held each other's gaze for a moment. Ushio was the first to back down. Jack might have been smaller and lighter than he was, but he was also still the king, and you didn't mess with someone like that unless it was important.

"If we're going to go, then let's go," said Jack. "I'll give you half an hour to do whatever you need to do to get ready, and then we're leaving. Rudger and Rex must already know I'm here, if they're sending poisoned spiders after me. If they decide to check up on me again and find you all here, they'll know we're plotting something, so we need to leave as soon as possible." He stood up. "I'm getting my things."

"Wait..." said Mikage, beginning to follow him.

He stopped her with a glance.

"By the way," he said. "The wedding is off."

"What?"

"You heard me," said Jack.

"But... but you said..." Mikage stammered.

"I said the wedding is off," he repeated.

He swept off to his room, leaving her looking stunned. Ushio stormed after him and caught him by the shoulder.

"Listen, you don't talk like that to her," he snapped.

"I'll talk to her however I want," Jack snapped. Lowering his voice slightly, he said, "If you want to make an issue out of this, wait until I'm dressed. We'll deal with this outside."

"Fine," said Ushio, "but you're going to regret this."

"Somehow," said Jack, "I doubt it."

Ushio snarled and stomped out of the building, muttering foul things about Jack - quietly, so that Mikage wouldn't hear some of the words he was using - but with great fervor. Once outside, he drew his sword and began slashing irritably at the air. Half of him was hoping to settle this with a fight so he could have a valid excuse to release some of the hostility he felt against this trumped-up young king. The other half of him was wishing he'd never said anything. He might be a good deal heavier and more muscular than Jack, and had more experience in the field, but none of that really mattered when Jack was known as being one of the most skilled swordsman ever to grace the kingdom. They said he'd never lost a fight. Ushio wasn't sure he wanted to bank on being the first.

_I never should have come on this stupid trip,_ he told himself.

After a few restless minutes of pacing, he heard the door open, and Jack stepped out. He was fully dressed now, looking regal even in the simple homespun clothes he was wearing. The cloak he'd borrowed from Misty still trailed behind him, fluttering slightly as he moved.

"Now we talk," he said.

"What is there to talk about?" said Ushio belligerently.

Jack didn't answer him right away. He turned aside, gazing off in the direction of the city.

"Rex and Rudger aren't considered proper nobility," he said. "They hold lands, but they wouldn't be able to pass them on to any heirs. Their holdings are entirely at my disposal, to give to whomever I please."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Ushio demanded.

"They're going to lose their place. That means all their privileges," said Jack slowly. "Someone is going to have to take over their landrights. Preferably someone I can trust - or at least, someone whose motives I understand." He turned to look at Ushio again. "I was thinking of giving them to you."

Ushio's jaw dropped. Then he shut his mouth and glared, his face going red.

"What makes you think you can bribe me with your stupid land?" he snapped.

"I'm not trying to bribe you," said Jack. "I'm sure you don't want to rule a landright. You'd be completely incompetent."

"So you're setting me up to fail?" Ushio asked.

"I'm saying," said Jack, "that if you had a landright, you would need someone to help you run it. And if you had a landright, you'd be eligible to marry someone of noble rank who would know how to do that."

"A hell of a lot of good that would do for me!" Ushio snapped. "The only woman I'd ever want to marry is... _oh._"

"That's what I thought," said Jack. "So. Do we have an understanding?"

"Er... yeah. We understand each other _just fine,_" Ushio stammered.

"Good," said Jack calmly. "I'm glad we have that settled.

Ushio continued to stare at him, trying to get his mind around this turn of events.

"Why would you do this for me?" he blurted. "You don't even like me. You don't even _know_ me."

"I'm not doing it for you," said Jack. "Or for Mikage either, for that matter."

"Then why?"

"Because," said Jack, "I am the king, and I have to do what is best for my people. If I marry Mikage, none of us will be happy - not even her, in the long run. If I don't and you do, at least _somebody_ will be happy." He turned and walked away. "You might want to talk to Mikage about this."

"Oh. Right," said Ushio. He wandered away in a daze, thinking vaguely that this conversation had not turned out at all the way he had expected.

He found Mikage outside the cabin, running a comb through her horse's mane, staring out into space. She didn't notice that Ushio was approaching her until he cleared his throat, and then she looked up at him.

"Did you talk to him?" she asked.

"Er, yeah," said Ushio. "We got everything straightened out. Don't worry."

"Really?" she asked, looking doubtful. "So the wedding is back on?"

"Kind of."

She gave him a probing look. "How can it be only _kind of_? Either there will be a wedding, or there won't."

"Well, it's, um..."

He ran out of words and stood ill-at-ease, twisting the hem of his shirt in his hands. For years he had dreamed of a day when he might somehow find the means to make his feelings known to her, but he'd never really _believed_ it. He still wasn't sure he believed it. There was a part of him that had trouble imagining that anyone would actually turn Mikage away. What more could they want? He would not have been surprised if Jack turned around at the end of everything and said that he'd changed his mind, and who could stop him? But even if he kept his word, that was still no guarantee that Mikage would accept him. Maybe she wouldn't. Probably not. It wasn't as though there was anything special about him - he wasn't particularly clever or talented or good-looking. Even with land and a title, there were lots of other better choices than him.

But if he didn't ask...

"Come on," Mikage prompted gently. "Out with it. What did he say? Tell me."

"He... He thinks it would be better if..." Ushio took a deep breath and blurted everything out in a rush. "He thinks it would be better if you married me instead. I think we should. I mean, we probably shouldn't argue with the king about something like that. But I'll understand if you don't want to. Um."

Mikage was giving him a quizzical look. "Did you just ask me to marry you?"

"Yeah. I did," he said, deflating a little.

"Because the king told you to?"

"Because I want to," he said. "It's what I've always wanted..."

Mikage faltered. "You... you're sure? But I'm so much trouble to you. Are you sure you want to have to go on protecting me forever?"

"That's exactly what I want." He looked embarrassed. "Actually, um... I'm going to need your help, too. The king says he's going to give me a title so it'll be okay to get married, but I don't know anything about running something like that. So you might have to look after me for a while."

"So you want me to marry you so I can help you manage a landright?"

"No, that's not it!" Ushio protested. This was not going at all the way he'd hoped. "I... I really like you, and I'd want to marry you no matter what, but I couldn't before so I never said anything, but now I can, so..." He trailed off and looked at her hopefully. "Would you?"

"Well..." She gave him a hesitant smile. "Actually, I... I think I'd like that."

"Really? You mean it?"

"Mm-hm," she said, nodding. "I would."

"Mikage..." he whispered, and then he gave in to the temptation that had been haunting him for years, and he drew her into his arms and kissed her. He felt her hesitate for a moment, and then she slipped her arms around him, pressing herself close to him.

A very small part of his mind was telling him that he was going to owe the king for the rest of his life for this, but that could definitely wait until later.

* * *

Carly would never be quite sure where the horses came from. She was reasonably sure that when Jack's friends had arrived, they'd only had three horses with them. Misty had taken a look at them, and then wandered off into the woods for a while, and had reappeared with several more horses following her. Now she had a glossy black one to ride, while Aki perched on a strawberry roan. Carly herself was now perched uncertainly on a dapple-gray and concentrating on not falling off. She had never fully appreciated how _big_ horses were before she'd been expected to sit on one. Fortunately, the horse didn't seem much concerned with her; she got the impression that it was following Misty's lead more than anything else. All that remained for Carly to do was to hold on to the reins and concentrate on staying in the saddle. Jack and Crow were eager to get home, and they were setting the swiftest pace they could with such inexperienced riders in their group.

_I bet I'm going to be really sore tomorrow,_ she thought. Actually, she was a little sore now. She had a feeling that words like "gentle" just weren't in Jack's vocabulary, and while it hadn't bothered her much at the time, she was starting to feel the after-effects of their night of indulgence. When she had said the aftermath of their relationship was going to hurt, this was not what she'd had in mind! She was pretty sure riding a horse wouldn't help matters any.

On the other hand, there was plenty to keep her mind off her discomfort. The enormity of what she had done and what she was doing was beginning to sink in. She had saved the king's life - saved it twice, in fact. She would have done it for anyone, but the fact that he was the king, and that he... they... well, anyway, she had never expected to get mixed up in anything of this magnitude. There was a small part of her that wanted to turn her horse around and go straight back home to where everything was safe and ordinary, but it was only a very small part of her. She really didn't want to miss the end of this adventure. She didn't want to leave Jack behind, either, not when their relationship was just beginning. Maybe there was no chance for her to stay with him, but that didn't mean she wouldn't follow him as far as she could.

Besides, she didn't think she could convince Misty's horse to turn around and let her go home, anyway.

At the moment, she was concentrating on keeping up with Jack and Crow, who were in the lead. Both of them were silent and serious, keeping their eyes fixed on the invisible point that was the distant capital city. Carly could almost feel Jack thinking as he planned what he would do when they finally arrived. A little behind her, Misty and Aki rode side by side, chatting quietly with each other. It sounded as though Misty were teaching Aki things about magic, but it was complicated talk full of mysterious phrases that Carly could make no sense of. Ushio and Mikage brought up the rear. They spoke very little, but they kept passing meaningful glances between them and glancing shyly away again. She wondered, as she rode steadily towards the city, what had passed between them, but most of her thoughts were given over to the fact that soon she would finally be seeing the king's city with her own eyes.

_I won't go back,_ she thought, as she rode through the forest. _I've saved a king and talked to a witch and faced down a goddess - I can't go back to being just a bookbinder in a nowhere town. If nothing else, I'll make Jack give me money to start a bookshop, and I'll live in the city. At least then I'd see him sometimes..._

It was nearing the end of the day when they finally emerged from the trees, and the capital could be seen gleaming on the horizon.

"It's so big," Aki murmured, echoing Carly's thoughts.

"We're gonna have to be careful from here on in," said Crow. "The last thing we need is for someone to see us. Rex and Rudger might know we're on the way already."

"I can cloak us," said Misty. "At least for long enough to get us to the castle without incident."

"Do it," Jack ordered.

Misty nodded. "Help me, then, Aki. Your aura is too powerful for me to shield without help."

"But I don't..." Aki began, and then, catching a look from Misty, nodded and closed her eyes.

Slowly, a mist rose around them - not a thick gray sort of mist, but one that was tinged pearly pink, like a sunrise. It gathered around them, spreading no further than a foot or two away from them, and rose until it covered them from top to toe. Then it dispersed, simply fading into invisibility.

"There," said Misty. "That will hold us for a while, but we should move quickly."

"I don't see any difference," said Ushio, with a hint of belligerence. "How do we know it worked?"

"You will have to trust me," said Misty. "No one who has not been touched by this mist will be able to see us. Or rather, they will see us, but deem us to be too insignificant to require their attention. They will forget us as soon as we are gone.

"As long as it makes Rudger mistake us for insignificant," said Jack.

Thus fortified, they went in. There was an uncomfortable moment as they passed through the front gates of the city wall, but the guards gave them only a single glance before waving them through. Inside the gates was a crush of people, more people than Carly had ever seen in one place in her life. She craned her head this way and that, trying to take in everything. The buildings were so much larger and grander than the ones at home - most of them were even made of real stone, and had wooden roofs instead of thatching! And some of them had real glass windows! As they skirted the edge of a marketplace, she nearly fell off her horse trying to see everything that was being bought and sold there. For a moment, she was almost sorry she hadn't let Jack repay her in gold, so that she could have spent it on some of those marvelous things.

"Quit fooling around," Crow snapped at her. "We aren't here to shop!"

"I'm not fooling around. I'm trying to see!" Carly protested.

"Both of you be quiet," Jack told them. "Do you want someone to notice us?"

"Is it going to be much further?" asked Aki. She was looking rather pale, and seemed to be trying to fold in on herself. "There are so many people here..."

"We're almost there," Mikage assured her.

The further onwards they went, the larger and more elaborate the homes were, until even Carly was a little overwhelmed, and beginning to sympathize with Aki and her wish to get away from all the hustle and bustle. At last, they were admitted through a large double gate, which seemed to be a side-entrance to the castle grounds, and they were able to slip into an area of relative peace and quiet. Jack led the whole group around to the stables, where they could let their horses eat and rest while they figured out where to go from there.

"The tricky part is going to be getting you in there without anyone noticing you," said Crow.

"I've already thought of that," said Jack. "I'm going to be your prisoner."

Crow blinked. "Come again?"

"The story was that you and Ushio went looking for the assassin who killed me," said Jack. "You've captured someone who was acting suspicious and brought him in for questioning."

"Good idea!" said Crow, brightening. "You'd just have to keep your hood up long enough for us to drag you inside."

"What are we going to do with them?" asked Ushio, indicating the women.

"Martha will take care of them," said Jack. "Mikage, I'll trust you to get them to her. Tell her I'm all right, and that these three need to be made to look like they belong here."

Mikage nodded. "You can count on me."

Jack turned back to Crow. "You go in first and scout out the situation. We'll meet again in Martha's quarters. I doubt anyone will think to look for us there."

"Right," said Crow. "See you then."

He darted off in one direction. Mikage beckoned to Carly, Aki, and Misty, who followed her in another. Carly glanced over her shoulder to see Jack pulling up the hood of his borrowed cloak so that his face was hidden by its deep cowl. She hoped that nothing would happen to him before she saw him again, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

Mikage led them inside the castle and through a maze of corridors. Carly couldn't help but stare. All her reading and daydreaming couldn't possibly have prepared her for all this. The floors actually had _carpeting_ on them, and the sconces that held the lamps were plated in gold, so that they twinkled where the light struck them. A closer look revealed that the lamps were lit with mage-light, not fire. And these, Mikage assured her, were only the minor hallways. Sure enough, as they reached the upper floors, they came to halls that had been paneled in wood or finished with stenciled paper, with framed paintings and little alcoves with statues in them. What would it be like to live here, Carly wondered? She imagined she might be happy just to camp out in the hallway.

She was so busy daydreaming that she almost walked into Mikage, who had stopped suddenly.

"What? What is it?" Carly yelped.

"My room," said Mikage. "I need to change. If anyone sees me like this, it will raise questions. Get inside - no one will bother you here."

She herded Carly, Aki, and Misty through an elaborately carved wooden door and into a suite of rooms. She had to herd them rather forcefully, or otherwise Carly would have stood there and stared. She had never seen such a beautiful room. It had thick rugs in intricate designs of sapphire blue and buttercup yellow, and thick velvet curtains over the windows. There was a glittering chandelier on the ceiling, surrounded by a fresco of angelic beings in filmy draperies. It appeared to be a sitting room, filled with delicately carved furniture, inlaid with gold or ivory and upholstered in fine fabrics. Carly ran her hand over a chair, wondering what the stuff it was made of was called. She had never owned a chair with actual upholstery in her life.

While she was still taking in her surroundings, Mikage passed through a door and into another room. Carly caught a glimpse of a bedroom containing a bed with curtains and a vanity table with a mirror - a _real mirror_ bigger than Carly's own kitchen window. That was all she had time to take in before Mikage shut the door firmly behind her. While Misty and Aki settled in for a wait, Carly contemplated a chair as though deciding whether or not she would be punished for sitting in it.

"Overwhelmed?" asked Misty, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not what I'm used to," Carly admitted. She gestured at her opulent surroundings. "This place is like, a... a..."

"Palace?" Misty suggested.

Carly blushed. "Yeah, like that." She sank into the chair. "I mean, I always thought my house was pretty nice, you know? But if this is what Jack is used to..."

"Your home is good," said Aki quietly. "It felt like a home. You could tell someone lived there and did something useful there. You shouldn't be ashamed of it."

"I guess," she said doubtfully. "I guess I just thought that if I followed him here, I could find a way to fit in, but this is... I don't know. And Mikage's so pretty, and she belongs in a place like this, and she's the one Jack was supposed to marry..."

"Mikage is engaged to her guard," said Misty.

Carly looked up, surprised. "She is? I _thought_ something funny was going on there, but..."

"Jack is in a difficult place right now," said Misty. "The way ahead is not yet fully clear to me, but I have a sense that before this is over, he is going to need help from all of us, including you. Perhaps especially you. So don't worry."

Mikage returned, now gorgeously attired in pale violet silk, looking not at all as though she had been riding and camping for the last two days. She was even wearing perfume in some misty floral scent.

"I'm sorry I haven't got anything I can loan you," she said, "but I'm not certain my clothes would fit you. They were tailored for me." She looked a bit embarrassed, as if admitting a moral shortcoming.

"Could we pass as servants?" asked Aki, looking doubtfully at her plain red dress.

Mikage shook her head. "Misty might, but not you and Carly. Even a lady's servant would be dressed better than that. Most of them are from wealthy families themselves. We'll just have to hide you if we run into anyone."

Carly sighed and nodded. Inwardly, she was thinking that she would have liked to wear one of those dresses, even a borrowed one. As Mikage led the way back out into the hall, she allowed herself a moment to imagine what that might be like. How nice must it be to have someone to make your clothes _for_ you, in any color and pattern you wanted? She imagined, as she walked, what sort of a dress she might have wanted if she were allowed to choose.

She had covered quite a distance that way, before Aki suddenly put out an arm to halt her.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Someone is coming," said Aki. "I can feel it."

"Hide," Mikage ordered them, and quickly pushed Carly and Aki into a nearby room, shutting the door behind her.

Carly immediately put her ear to the door to listen to what was going on.

"Oh, Lady Mikage!" the servant exclaimed. "Where have you been? People have been looking for you."

"They can't have been looking very hard," said Mikage. "I've only been out to the city for a little while. I received word that one of my kinswomen had come to see me, and I went to meet her."

"You shouldn't have gone out alone, my lady," said the servant worriedly.

"I didn't. I was accompanied by my kinswoman's servants, since my own bodyguard has been searching for the king's assassin," she replied.

"Of course. Forgive me," the servant murmured. "Is there anything I might do for either of you?"

"I understand that there is a woman in this castle named Martha," said Mikage. "A nursemaid, if I am not mistaken?"

"Yes, my lady. Shall I send for her?"

"That will not be necessary." That was Misty's voice. "It is only that one of my ladies has a small child traveling with her, and we need someone to attend the boy so that she will be free to do my bidding. You need only tell us where to find her, so that the child might be delivered to her safely."

"Of course, my lady," said the servant. "This time of day, you'll find her in the workoom on the third floor, in the south wing."

"Thank you," said Mikage. "You may go now."

There was a soft patter of footsteps as the servant scampered off to wherever he'd been going. A moment later, the door opened again, and Carly nearly pitched face-forward onto the luxurious carpet.

"Let's go, quickly," said Mikage, shooting her a glare.

"That was quick thinking," said Aki.

"Oh, well," said Mikage, looking mildly pleased, "I had been thinking what I would say if we ran into someone."

"It was well thought," said Misty, "though I am not certain that everyone would believe I am a kinswoman to you. We look nothing alike."

"If anyone asks, you can be my sister-in-law," said Mikage. "We'll just hope they don't realize that I have no brothers."

But no one asked. They passed a few more servants, but managed to avoid any further confrontations, and found their way to the workrooms with relative ease. Once there, they began investigating the rooms one by one. Most were full of assorted supplies: bolts of cloth and spools of thread or ribbons. One room had a number of looms in it. Most showed signs of having been used recently, but it seemed that the supposed death of their king had thrown the work schedules out of order. At last, they found a room where a single woman sat alone, stitching silently at a black garment.

"Excuse me," said Mikage, "but are you Martha?"

The woman raised her head to look at her. She was a motherly-looking person who under other circumstances might have seemed quite pleasant, but her face looked drawn and tired, and her eyes were rimmed in red.

"That's right," she said, "and you're Lady Mikage, aren't you?"

"Yes," she said. "Listen, we need your help. Jack sent us to find you."

"Jack?" Martha repeated. "But..."

"He's not dead," said Aki. "He was very badly poisoned, but I was able to heal him. He's perfectly well, and he should be in this castle right now. He'll be here as soon as he can."

It was amazing the effect this news had on her. In an instant, Martha seemed to lose twenty years off her age, and a broad smile crossed her face.

"I should have known," she said. "That boy is too stubborn to die. Ask me!"

"You're the woman who raised him, aren't you?" asked Carly curiously.

"As much as anyone could raise him. He's had a mind of his own from day one," said Martha. She gave a thoughtful look to Carly. "Though how you'd know that..."

"He told me," said Carly.

"Did he, now? Hm, he's getting talkative lately," said Martha. "If you're friends of his, then I'll do what I can for you. What do you need?"

"We need them," said Mikage, gesturing toward the other women, "to look like they belong here. Misty can pass, but the other two..."

"Need a change of clothes," Martha finished, nodding briskly. "And a bath, by the look of it, but you might have to settle for a bucket of hot water and a cloth. You stay here - I'll take care of it."

She bustled off, leaving the other women safely ensconced in the workroom. She reappeared several minutes later carrying an armload of folded clothing, and followed by a maid carrying a steaming bucket of water and a pile of towels.

"Just set those there," she told the maid, "and leave the rest to me. Go on, go on, I've got everything under control. Shoo!"

Her guests, very grateful for the hot water after the long day of traveling, set about scrubbing their faces while Martha sorted through the clothing. Bundled in with the dresses were pieces of jewelry and some brushes and combs, and a few pairs of slippers.

"I had to guess your sizes," she said, "but I think we can make these work. You, come here."

Aki stepped forward, and Martha began busily taking her measurements, and finally presented her with a brown velvet dress.

"Not the best color on you, but I think it will fit," she said. "Try it on and we'll see... Who's next? Yes, you. You need some fixing up. What was your name again, child?"

"Carly. I'm a bookbinder," she admitted, as though being a bookbinder was something vaguely shameful.

"I see," said Martha. "And you're friendly with my boy Jack?"

Carly blushed. "Something like that.

Martha gave her a knowing look. "Oh, I _see_. Well, then. Let's see if we can't make you look like something besides a bookbinder for a little while..."

* * *

Jack was having occasion to be very grateful that he'd talked Ushio around to his side. Otherwise, he would be having a rough time of it right now. At the moment, he was bound hand and foot with two lengths of rope, with just enough slack that he could walk at a hobble. Another loop of rope was tied around his neck, so that he was being led along behind Ushio like a dog on a leash. Not coincidentally, the rope also kept the cowl of his hood pulled tightly around his face, so that there was no chance that it might fall away and accidentally reveal his features. It also made it difficult for him to see where he was going, and being led around by the neck was not the easiest way to travel. Ushio could have made it much more difficult for him, if he'd had a mind to, but the soldier was leading him with every possible care. He was making a lot of noise and shouting insults at him, certainly, and aiming the occasional kick or blow at him. It was also true that none of those kicks or blows actually landed, and the cruel-looking jerks and shoves Jack was given only served to guide him on the right track. - none of it really hurt. All the same, he would be very, very relieved when they finally got where they were going so he could walk normally.

He was relieved when he finally heard a voice hiss, "Hey, this way!" and he was abruptly pulled through a door. At least, that's what he assumed happened, because he didn't really see it. All he knew was that he was walking in the general direction he was being led, and then someone grabbed his arm and jerked him sideways. He gave a strangled cry as the rope he was being led by was pulled taut, and then he heard Ushio scrambling to catch up and give him some slack. The next thing he heard was a door slamming, and then someone was removing his bonds and hood.

"Could you try harder to choke me?" Jack complained.

"Sorry, sorry!" said Crow. "I didn't see you were tied up!"

"How could you miss it?" Jack snapped, but he didn't press the matter very far, glad as he was to finally be able to move and breathe freely.

"I was doing the best I can!" Ushio protested.

"You did a good job," said Crow. "I heard you guys coming long before you got here. By now, the whole castle is going to be going crazy. The whole city, maybe. Everybody knows we caught a suspect. You two had better be careful or someone's going to want to get a piece of the action. There are some real kooks out there."

"It was your job to scout for kooks," Ushio pointed out. "What have you been doing?"

"Scouting," said Crow. "I'm worried. I can't find Yusei or Kiryu and nobody seems to know where they went."

"He would disappear the one time I have a use for them," said Jack. He shook his head irritably. "It can't be helped. The others will be waiting for us."

"We can't just run off without them!" said Crow. "I mean, seriously. If nothing else, they're going to want a piece of the guys who tried to off you."

"They'll just have to catch up. There isn't time to wait around," said Jack. He pulled his hood back up. "But I am not putting those stupid ropes on again."

"You're the king," said Ushio with a shrug. "Got any ideas what to do next?"

"I'm working on it," Jack replied, and started out again.

Truth be told, he was starting to feel a bit antsy about that. What should he do? The usual court procedures, he suspected, weren't going to stick to the Goodwin brothers. Rex was too slippery for that - he probably already had a long list of loopholes and alibis just waiting to be trotted out, which would prove that he couldn't have possibly done anything and couldn't be blamed if he had. Rudger wouldn't be that subtle. Jack cursed himself for not taking the opportunity to find out more about what the man was capable of. He had always been so quiet, hiding in his rooms and rarely speaking to anyone who wasn't his brother, performing spells when he was requested to and otherwise staying out of the way. Who knew what he might have prepared in case of emergencies?

_We should probably try to deal with Rudger first. He's the more dangerous of the two. Rex can only do so much without his brother backing him up. Hopefully Aki and Misty will be able to handle him..._

He was so deep in his planning that he almost missed it when they arrived at the workshop. Ushio had to catch him by the shoulder and haul him back.

"We stopped," he said unnecessarily.

"I can see that," Jack snapped.

To save himself from having to answer any questions about why he hadn't stopped walking if he'd seen they had reached their destination, he opened the workroom door. Inside, he found Mikage, Aki, and Misty sitting on work stools and sipping tea. They were chatting earnestly with each other about where Aki might take up residence once the current crisis was settled, but they looked up anxiously when the men arrived.

"It seems they have returned to us in one piece," Misty remarked, setting aside her teacup.

"Where is Martha? And Carly?" Jack demanded.

"In there, getting changed," said Mikage, indicating the door to an adjoining storage room. "I don't think Carly is used to such elaborate clothing."

That did seem to be the case. Jack could hear some muffled rustles and muttering going on in there, along with the gentle voice of Martha offering encouragement. He walked over and knocked on the door.

"Are you going to be done any time soon?" he asked.

"Just a moment," said Martha. "Let me finish fixing her hair."

"We're not going to a ball. We're just trying to blend in," Jack grumbled, but he leaned against the wall and waited for them.

There was some more rustling, and a few firm words of instruction from Martha, followed by muffled complaints from Carly. After what seemed like an eternity, the door finally opened, and Jack prepared to rejoin the rest of the group. Then he stopped. He took a long, hard look.

He should have known, by that point, what Carly looked like. He'd had ample opportunity to look at her last night, but it had been dark and they had both been in something of a hurry. And yesterday, she had been tired and sweaty from nursing him through his fever, and dressed in her well-worn old clothes. Now she was... different. Somehow, Martha had managed to clean her up. Her long hair was pinned up with a jeweled silver comb, and a ribbon held her heavy bangs away from her brow, making her face seem rounder and softer. She was wearing an elegant gown of pale green, trimmed with soft blue and lilac, and her usually ink-stained hands were covered by elegant white gloves. Perhaps for the first time in her life, she was wearing makeup and jewelry. She had removed her glasses, and was now staring appealingly up at him with clear gray-green eyes. Jack found himself staring at her and wondering how he had missed the fact that she was beautiful.

He was still attempting to absorb this unlikely state of affairs when he was nearly thrown off his feet by an effusive hug.

"Jack, you had me worried! Shame on you!" Martha scolded, squeezing him until he felt his ribs pop. "You're going to be the death of me."

"I didn't do it on purpose," he managed to gasp out.

"Jack?" said Carly uncertainly. "What's going on? I can't _see_."

"Give Carly back her glasses," Jack ordered.

Mercifully, Martha let go of him so she could return Carly's glasses. Carly seized on them gratefully, and by the time she had them in place again, Jack had managed to compose himself. She looked at him expectantly.

"Well?" she said. "What do you think?"

"You look different," he said.

She smiled as though he'd paid her a compliment and ran her hand over the silky material of the skirt.

"I've never worn a dress like this before," she admitted. "I wish I had a mirror."

"We'll get you one later," said Crow, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Right now we have bigger problems, like how we're going to beat these creeps."

Carly looked innocent. "What do you want me to do about it? I just copy books."

"You were the one who insisted on coming," said Jack, "so you can make yourself useful."

"We must be clear on our objectives," said Misty. "What we must do depends on what results we wish to achieve. I, for one, would not hesitate to kill both these men."

"Yeah, well, that might be easier said than done," said Crow, "unless you've got some good spells for finishing off wizards."

Her expression darkened. "My gifts for offensive magic are not great."

"You were stronger than Divine," Aki pointed out softly.

"He was a mere hedge wizard," said Misty, "and he was drunk, which will hamper any mage's abilities. Even then, I only banished him, not killed him. I do not think this Rudger will be so unprepared."

"Humph," said Ushio. "Even if he's a wizard, he's still human. I reckon a sword will go through him as easily as it will through anyone else. I say we just lop his head off and be done with it."

"It isn't that easy," said Aki. "Any good mage learns how to ward themselves. It was one of the first things Divine taught me. He'll be protected against most of the common metals. We'll have to undo the wards before he can be injured at all."

"Can you do it, then?" asked Jack.

Aki exchanged looks with Misty.

"Well, maybe..." she said. "I know the theory, but I've never needed to actually _do_ it."

"It may be wise to provide a distraction," said Misty.

"We can do distractions," said Crow, grinning. "I'm _good_ at distractions."

"I doubt my power is sufficient to breach his defenses," said Misty, "but I can raise some shields to protect us long enough to remove his."

"Good," said Jack. "Then you shield us. Aki, you work on punching through his wards. Crow, you keep him busy while Misty and Aki work. As soon as they're done, Ushio and I will attack from behind."

"What about us?" asked Carly. "I thought you wanted me to be useful."

"You two can go find Yusei and Kiryu," said Jack. "We may want their help."

"And they might want a piece of these guys," Crow chimed in. "Lots of pieces. Big ones."

Carly pouted. "I didn't come all the way here just so you could tell me to go away again."

"Would you rather go into battle swinging a sword? Or perhaps you'd like to try casting some spells?" said Jack sarcastically.

"All right, all right, fine," said Carly hastily.

"We'll find them," said Mikage. She stood up. "Be careful, all of you. If something happens..."

"We won't let anything happen," Ushio assured her. "Don't you worry about a thing! The scum won't know what hit them."

The group split up. Crow and Misty were dispatched to scout ahead, with her scanning the area with her magical gifts and him relying on his keen senses and quick reflexes. Jack, Ushio, and Aki followed at a safe distance. Mikage and Carly departed together in the opposite direction.

"I still wish we could have gone with them," Carly complained.

"So do I," said Mikage. "But we have to do what we can where we're most useful." She herded Carly around a corner into a side corridor. "Now, if anyone asks, you're my new maid, come to help me with the wedding."

"But you aren't marry Jack anymore, are you?"

"Not anymore," said Mikage, "but not everyone knows that."

Meanwhile, Yusei was making his own exploration of the castle. He was growing concerned. Ever since his chat with Goodwin, he had been searching for Kiryu, without any success. He'd last seen his friend in Kiryu's room, when they had discussed the complications of Yusei having to become king. When Yusei had returned, Kiryu was gone without a trace. He was not on the training grounds or the soldiers' mess hall, or any of the places he could usually be found. Yusei was beginning to worry that he wouldn't find Kiryu anywhere in the castle, and that could be bad, because it would make their situation even more complicated than it already was. He was racking his brain for some other place where he could look, when he rounded a corner and spotted two women walking ahead of them.

"Lady Mikage!" he said. "Where have you been?"

Both women turned to face him.

"There you are!" said Mikage. "We've been looking for you everywhere."

"When did you get back?" Yusei demanded. "Where have you been? Have you seen Kiryu? And who is she?"

"We haven't seen anyone," said Mikage. "It's too complicated to explain all at once. The important thing is that Jack is alive. This is Carly - she's the one who rescued him."

"He's alive?" Yusei repeated. He leaned against the wall, sighing with relief. "Then that's one problem solved. But we still need to find Kiryu. You can tell me the rest while we're looking for him."

Mikage looked mildly distressed. "But we have to catch up to Jack and the others as soon as possible. They've gone looking for Rudger to fight with him. They might need your help."

"Finding Kiryu might be more important," said Yusei. "If he's still in the castle."

"Well, we were supposed to be looking for him, too," Carly offered. "Not that I'd know him if I saw him, but..."

"Fine, we'll look for him," said Mikage, "but let's hurry. I don't like to think what could be happening while we're gone."

They set out again, dutifully scanning the halls and rooms for signs that Kiryu might have passed by. While they walked, Mikage and Carly did their best to fill Yusei in on what had been happening while he'd been otherwise occupied. He had to admit that he was not at all surprised that the Goodwins had been involved in trying to poison Jack, no matter what they had claimed when Yusei asked them. The part about the Goddess was more interesting, but most of his thoughts were still occupied with the big question of where the original arrow had come from in the first place. He hesitated at an intersection, trying to decide which direction to go.

"What's down that way?" asked Carly, peering curiously down a hall.

"The library," said Yusei. "I don't think he would be..."

"Can we at least look at it?"

"Carly!" said Mikage sharply. "We don't have time!"

"Well, he _might_ be in there," said Carly stubbornly. "It would only take a moment..."

Without waiting to see if anyone would agree with her, she started down the hall. Mikage made a sound of exasperation and followed her. Yusei watched them for a moment, and then, struck by a sudden thought, hurried to catch up to them.

Carly reached the door first and flung it open, darting eagerly inside, avoiding an attempt by Mikage to grab her and haul her back. By the time Yusei reached the door, he found both women standing and staring, and what they were staring at was...

"Kiryu," said Yusei quietly.

Kiryu gave Yusei a stricken look. "Yusei! I was just...."

"I found you here before," Yusei said, taking a step forward. "You were looking at those scrolls. Why?"

"I wasn't really looking at them," said Kiryu. "I was only thinking, and they just happened to be in front of me. What of it?"

"I don't think that was it," said Yusei. He took a breath and closed his eyes, regretting what he felt he had to say next. "I think you were putting something there. And I think you were the one responsible for killing Jack."

**To Be Continued...**


	6. The King's Law

****

The King's Law

****

By: SilvorMoon

Yusei's pronouncement was met with instant shock. Mikage gave a little gasp, Carly yelped, and Kiryu went pale.

"You did, didn't you?" Yusei said softly.

"I - I didn't," he stammered. "Why would you think... Jack was my _friend_."

"Rex and Rudger showed me the scroll," said Yusei, stepping forward. "The one that proves that I'm the old king's son. They found it here in the library. There's only one place in this library where scrolls like that are stored, and that's here. People have been using this library for years, but they never found that scroll until just after I found you studying that shelf - you, who never use this library if you can help it." He shook his head. "You weren't even surprised when I told you I'd been named successor to the throne. All you said was, 'That's good, right?' You planted that scroll there. You read it, and you knew I was the true king, so you sent Jack away. It was you who suggested he should go up to the lodge. You already had someone waiting for him there, didn't you?"

Kiryu cast about, looking as though he hoped to find an escape route, or as if an explanation might be written down somewhere. Then something in him seemed to collapse.

"I didn't mean for him to get hurt," he said. "Believe me."

"Tell me what happened," said Yusei.

"I found the scroll," said Kiryu. "Someone had thrown out an old desk that had gotten broken, and I thought I could repair it and use it in my room. The scroll had gotten wedged behind the drawer, and as soon as I read it, I realized that it was you who was meant to be king, not Jack. I thought I'd be doing everyone a favor: Jack wouldn't have to go through with the wedding, and you'd have your birthright. You _deserve_ to be king."

"And you had to get Jack out of the way?" Yusei persisted."

"I didn't mean for him to die!" said Kiryu desperately. "I just... wanted him out of the way, for a little while. Just long enough for you to take the crown. I hired someone to wait for him near the hunting lodge and detain him there, and then convinced Jack to go out alone. I thought the man I hired was only going to kidnap him - I said I just wanted him out of the way, but he thought I meant to kill him, and by the time I knew what he'd done, it was already too late..."

"You never thought to ask if I wanted to be king?" Yusei asked him. "Or if Jack wanted to stop?"

"But... he did want to. He was tired of being king. We all know that. And you would be a good king, Yusei. You still would." Kiryu looked at him with a kind of wild hope in his eyes, and Yusei realized that Kiryu honestly expected to be forgiven. He really believed that everything he had done was right, and it was only his hired man's misunderstanding that had ruined it all.

"I would not be a good king," said Yusei. "I don't know if I really am the old king's son or not, but it doesn't make any difference. I don't know how to be king. Jack does. When this is over, I will abdicate in favor of him."

"But..." Kiryu said. "But you can't. Jack is... gone."

"Not quite," said Yusei. "But I think he's going to want a talk with you when we catch up to him. A very long talk."

Yusei watched Kiryu's face crease as he tried to puzzle through the meaning of that. Then he looked up again. "You mean he's not dead?"

"He isn't," said Yusei. "We're going to go help him deal with two people who really _were_ trying to kill him. You can help or not - it's up to you." He turned and began walking away. "Mikage, Carly, come."

The two women followed as if in a daze, still trying to absorb the scene they had just witnessed. After they had gone a few paces, Kiryu scrambled after them.

"I'm coming," he said. "It won't make up for what I've done, but..."

Yusei didn't answer. There was nothing he could really say. Silently, the four of them set out in search of their friends.

* * *

Crow was sneaking. He was always happiest doing this sort of mission: scouting, spying, searching for his enemy's weaknesses and unguarded flanks, and then dropping in on them like a bolt from the blue. Today he was particularly enjoying himself, because Misty had cloaked him in another one of her spells of concealment. He had always been good at creeping along without being noticed when he had a mind to, but with her backing him up, he was as good as invisible, almost not even there. It was wonderfully liberating. If he'd had something like this when he'd been a thief, he thought, he would never have gotten caught.

_But if I hadn't, I wouldn't be here. Probably for the best,_ he thought philosophically.

Even with the cloaking spell, he was treading cautiously. Everyone had agreed that the most likely place to find Rudger was in his study, and there was no telling what sort of defenses the ever-cautious mage had set up. Even Misty's spell might not be enough to keep him from triggering some sort of magical alarm. Now he stood a few yards from the door to Rudger's study and contemplated his options. Dimly, he could hear the sound of someone moving around in there, and no one but Rudger himself was likely to be spending time in this room. The question was, how to get him out?

_No good bursting in on him,_ he decided. _There's no room to move in there, and he's got all his goodies stowed right where he can reach them. Better to coax him out to us. Where's a good place? Hallway's not good enough. Can't be too far away, though. Hmm..._

He retreated a short distance and returned to Misty's side.

"Tell everyone to get situated in the lesser meeting room," he said. "I'm going to try to lure Rudger in there where we'll have some room to move."

She nodded. "Understood."

Crow watched as she swept away, fading almost like the mist itself. That was a good trick, he mused - it almost made him wish he'd learned magic. Probably he wouldn't be able to do it, though. Flash and dazzle was more his style. And speaking of which....

He gave his friends a few minutes to get themselves into position before hurrying to Rudger's workroom. He ran the last dozen yards at a full gallop to work himself into the correct breathless state and flung the door open with a colossal _bang_ that made the jars on the shelves rattle.

"You're never gonna believe this!" he exclaimed. "Jack is back!"

"What?" Rudger exclaimed, in a tone of consternation. He leaped to his feet, scattering parchment. Crow was relieved to see that Rudger had apparently been studying a heap of old papers instead of readying some earth-shattering spell. "How do you know?"

"Because he's _here_!" said Crow. "I just saw him! He says to get everyone together in the lesser meeting hall so he can tell us all what happened."

"That is impossible. There is no way he could still be alive. I _saw_ him dying. My spell should have been perfect," Rudger grumbled, but he began lumbering towards the meeting hall. Crow trotted along behind him, stealthily loosening his dagger from its sheath. Misty and Aki may have been right about Rudger being warded, but he was supposed to be distracting Rudger, and a guy coming at you from behind with a knife could be very distracting.

They reached the hall, and Rudger flung the doors open, casting a quick glance around the room. It was unlit, dark as the inside of a tomb, but the light from the open door revealed no human presence. While he was still puzzling over this, Crow took a running leap and flung himself at Rudger. He managed to get his arms around the big man's neck and cling to him like a monkey.

"What the hell?" Rudger exclaimed.

"Die, bastard!" shouted Crow, and drove the dagger towards Rudger's throat.

Several things happened at once. There was an ear-shattering screech as the dagger slid off an invisible barrier, striking sparks. Rudger gave a bellow and managed to wrench Crow off of his back, pitching him across the room. He hit the floor hard, and his dagger fell from his hands to skid across the floor. At the same time, the lights came on in a blue-green blaze of mage-fire, revealing Misty and Aki standing at the center of the room. Crow, dazed and reeling from being flung, nevertheless managed to stagger to his feet and push the door shut.

"You fools," Rudger snarled. "Do you think your little tricks are going to stop me? I'm the greatest wizard in this kingdom. Nothing you can do will hurt me."

"Yeah, well, that's what we're trying to find out," said Crow. He unsheathed his sword and struck a fighting stance. "Come and get me - unless you're the kind of coward who fights girls."

"I'm not afraid of any of you," said Rudger. He held out a hand, and purple light flared from his fist to coalesce into the form of a sword, a heavy thing with a serrated edge that still glittered with its own violet aura.

"Well, this is gonna be fun," said Crow resignedly, and he lunged.

It was plain from the beginning that Crow didn't stand a chance. He was a fine swordsman in his own right, but Rudger was larger and stronger than he is, and each blow hit him with the crushing force of an avalanche, so that it took all Crow's strength just to remain standing as he defended himself. The disparity was only made worse that despite the fact that Crow was occasionally landing a blow, his sword merely skidded off of some invisible barrier.

"Hey, a little help here!" he called, as a shove from Rudger sent him tumbling.

"I'm _trying_," said Aki desperately. "He's so strong..."

"You are stronger," Misty said. "You must do this."

Crow tried to get to his feet, but Rudger kicked him, propelling him several feet into a wall. He gasped and fell, clutching at his side.

"Ow. Shit," he grumbled. "Guys, I don't care if you're done or not, I need help _now_."

"No one can help you now," said Rudger, advancing slowly. "Certainly not two little girls with delusions of being witches. I don't know what you're playing at, but it's going to end now. I'm going to put your head on a pike and hang it out the window as an example to those who think they can fight a wizard with a sword. Or maybe I'll turn you into your namesake. There are spiders that eat birds, you know...."

"Got it!" said Aki jubilantly, and there was a spark and a smell of something burning. Rudger looked up, alarmed.

"What? What was that?" he demanded.

In the next instant, Jack and Ushio darted out from behind a pair of ornamental pillars and threw themselves at Rudger, swords raised. Rudger gave a snarl and swept his sword at Jack, batting him away, and spun around to strike Ushio with his free hand. It didn't do any good; he might as well have punched a brick wall. Ushio brought his sword down with a roar, but Rudger just barely was able to dodge, so that all he lost was a scrap of fabric from his robes. He quickstepped to the side so that both his adversaries were in front of him instead of hemming him in.

"So that's your game," he rumbled. "Think you can beat me just because my shields are broken? Beat this."

He pushed down one sleeve, revealing a red tattoo on his forearm in the shape of a spider. He pinched it and began to pull at it, and it peeled away stickily, making an unpleasant squelching sound. As it came free of his skin, it took on a three-dimensional quality, until it was no longer a tattoo but a huge spider as large as his hand. He threw it at the floor, and it began scrambling towards Ushio, increasing in size as it went. Within the span of a few seconds, it had gone from hand-sized to the size of a large cat, and then the size of a sheep, and then the size of a pony.

"You and your damned spiders," Jack growled. "Ushio, take care of it! I owe this man some payback."

"Gotcha," said Ushio. "Come here, you ugly...."

The spider screeched at him in tones almost too high-pitched to hear, and began charging toward him. It moved far more quickly than it looked like it should be able to with all those legs. Ushio watched it in hypnotized fascination for a second, until he realized that the monster was almost upon him. He reacted almost too late, and was only just barely able to swing his sword at it. The blade scuffed the creature's carapace, slicing away spiky fur, but the spider didn't seem to be more than dazed by its attack. Ushio was forced to make a quick retreat while he sized up his enemy, watching for weaknesses.

Meanwhile, Jack was circling Rudger, waiting for another ugly surprise, but the mage only watched him with a smug grin.

"So, here he is, the world's greatest swordsman," Rudger taunted. "Did you ever think to try yourself against me? Or did you think I was soft because I spend my time studying? Have you ever gone up against an enemy with brains _and_ brawn?"

"If I ever meet one I'll let you know," said Jack.

He lunged, making a feint, probing for weaknesses. Rudger was surprisingly fast for a man his size. He blocked Jack's strike and forced him backwards, and Jack gritted his teeth as he felt vibrations run down his arm from the force of the larger man's blow.

_He doesn't need to get through my defenses,_ Jack thought. _He'll break my arm if I'm not careful._

Jack forced himself to think calmly. There had to be some way of getting around this bruiser. Brute strength was obviously not going to work, and magic was out of the question - Misty and Aki were already putting everything they had into forcing Rudger to keep his wards down. Ushio couldn't help him, and Crow was obviously injured. If there was some way to outmaneuver him, it might be possible to win, but Rudger was almost as fast as he was strong, and Jack had only a fifty-fifty chance of that, at best.

_Think! There has to be something..._

Then something caught his eye. It was a very small thing, but it might be the chance he needed. If Jack was fast enough, accurate enough, it just might be the saving of him. Maybe.

"Come on, Rudger," he said, "let's see how fast you are." Then he struck.

All the while, Ushio was doing his best to keep the spider occupied, which was no easy task. Its shell, or hide, or whatever it was made of, seemed to be as tough as any armor, and it was all Ushio could do just to scratch the thing. As far as he could tell, he was doing nothing more than making it angry. He gritted his teeth and persevered, stabbing wherever he could find an opening, hacking at its joints. The spider hissed and batted at him with one leg, and Ushio raised his sword to block it. In that moment, the spider dove forward and sunk its fangs deep into his side. Ushio gave a roar of pain and struck blindly, and the pommel of his sword connected with one of the spider's eight eyes. It gave a shriek of pain that was truly awful to hear and backed away, hissing.

Dazedly, Ushio took stock of his situation. He was bleeding badly from where the spider had bitten him. Was it poisonous? Probably, which meant that he didn't have a whole lot of time. He slumped against the wall, feeling himself growing dizzy. The spider, furious now but sensing victory, gathered itself for another spring. It leaped at him.

Ushio raised his sword, angling it straight down the spider's gaping mouth. Its jaws closed on his arm, but it was a reflex only - the sword had penetrated its brain, and with a final gurgle, it curled in on itself and collapsed into reddish dust. Ushio gave a smile of grim satisfaction, and quietly passed out.

Jack saw all this out of the corner of his eye, but he was in no position to do anything about it. He continued harrying Rudger, making little stabs here and swipes there. He was growing tired, and Rudger seemed to sense it. He was toying with Jack, making no attempt to fight back, merely avoiding the attacks and waiting for Jack to wear himself out.

"Some king you are," he taunted. "Rex was right. You're a failure. All you've ever been good at is hacking things with swords. Hopefully your replacement will do a better job."

"There won't be a replacement," panted Jack. "I'm getting rid of you _and_ your brother."

"You aren't going to survive this fight," Rudger said. "Look at you. You can barely breathe, let alone fight."

"I don't have to fight," said Jack. "All I need is..."

He made a sudden swipe, and Rudger calmly stepped backwards. His foot came down squarely on the dagger that Crow had dropped earlier, and it skidded on the smooth stone floor. Rudger's confident expression changed to one of horror as he toppled over backwards and landed flat on his back. In a flash, Jack was standing over him, the tip of his sword resting none-too- gently against his throat.

"All I need," said Jack, "is for you to not watch where you're going."

Rudger snarled curses at him and reached under his shirt for something. Jack prepared to drive his sword into the man's throat, but Rudger threw the whatever-it-was at the wall, where it exploded with a puff of yellow smoke. Nothing else seemed to happen. Jack waited a moment to be sure, but whatever spell it had been, it either hadn't worked at all, or it had merely been an attempt to distract him long enough for Rudger to get free.

"Bind him and gag him," Jack ordered Misty. "I don't want him able to work any spells."

"You aren't going to kill him?"asked Misty, stepping over to the prone wizard's side.

"Yes," said Jack. "I am going to kill him. But first he's going to go to trial, because that is the law of the land, and I am a king, not a tyrant."

"Well chosen," said Misty. "Hold still, then, Wizard Rudger, while I prepare your bonds."

From somewhere under her clothes, she produced a small green jewel, which she pressed to his forehead. He gave a cry of surprise as a veil of mist sprung from it and enveloped him. It wrapped around him and constricted him, pulling him into a smaller and smaller bundle, until he was no longer a man, but a fat gray spider. Misty scooped it up by one leg and tucked it in a purse.

There was a commotion as the door to the meeting room was opened, and Yusei, Kiryu, Carly, and Mikage came rushing in. They took in the bloody floor and the general confusion with exclamations of dismay.

"Ushio!" Mikage exclaimed, and rushed to the fallen soldier's side.

"Jack," said Yusei. "What's going on here?"

"We fought Rudger," said Jack. "We have him under control - Misty turned him into a spider."

Yusei nodded. "Fitting. Crow, are you all right?"

"Gonna be just... fine," said Crow, trying to sit up. "Except for these broken ribs. Damn."

"I'll help in a minute," said Aki. She was hurrying over to where Ushio was lying. Mikage had his head cradled in her lap as she tried desperately to staunch the flow of blood. She continued calling his name, but he remained unconscious.

"Hold him steady," Aki ordered. "I'm going to try to fix him."

Mikage nodded, her eyes wide.

Aki rested her hands on him, one on his forehead and the other over his heart, and she murmured something. She closed her eyes, swaying softly, as her murmuring took on tone and melody until it became a low, soft song. Red light flickered from her fingertips and danced over his skin to sink into the places in his side and arm where the spider's fangs had closed on him. Gradually, the bleeding stopped, and the wounds closed themselves, leaving nothing to mark their presence but a set of bloody holes in his clothing. He opened his eyes and sat up.

"Mikage..." he murmured. "What happened? Did I win?"

"Oh, Ushio, what am I going to do with you?" she said, with a laugh that was teary around the edges, and kissed him.

Aki stood up.

"It looks to me as though he's completely recovered," she said to no one in particular.

"Great," said Crow. "So how about spreading a little of that magic over here, huh? I might wanna breathe sometime in the near future."

"Sorry," she said humbly, and went to attend to him.

It took much less time to heal Crow's broken ribs, but when Aki had finished, she gave a little gasp and pitched forward, crouching on all fours on the floor.

"Hey, are you okay?" asked Crow, looking mildly alarmed, as though he thought he might be personally responsible for her breakdown.

"I'm - all right," said Aki shakily. "I'm just a little drained. Taking apart those wards was difficult, and that spider's venom was very strong..."

"Rest," said Jack. "You've done all we needed. Now we only have to deal with Rex."

"Are you sure you're all right?" asked Carly, looking at him with concern. "If you've gone and gotten yourself hurt again, I won't forgive you."

"Who said I wanted to be forgiven?" said Jack. "For your information, I'm fine. The fool thought that he could win a duel by pure strength."

"You couldn't have done it without me," said Crow, getting up to retrieve his dagger.

"It wasn't you," said Jack. "It was your knife that did it."

"Yeah, well, how about thanking me for putting it there for you?" Crow retorted.

"So he's really gone?" asked Ushio, who had finally disentangled himself, albeit reluctantly, from Mikage's embrace. "You don't think he's just playing a trick, do you?"

"He is incapacitated," said Misty. "In the form he's in now, he can no longer speak the words or make the gestures that would allow him to change back. We can hold him this way until we have leisure to deal with him properly. My preference would be stepping on him now, but the king makes a good point regarding due process of law."

"So I guess now we go looking for Rex," said Crow. He chuckled. "Boy, is he in for a surprise. Maybe we can turn him into a bug too."

"We have other matters to worry about first," said Yusei.

Kiryu looked at the floor, avoiding both Yusei and Jack's gaze. Jack raised an eyebrow.

"Did something happen while I was gone?" he asked.

"Not exactly," said Yusei.

"I made a mistake," Kiryu admitted, still looking anywhere but at his friends.

"Was it important?" asked Jack.

"Yes," said Kiryu. "It was important."

"Can it wait until after we're done wrapping this up?" Jack demanded impatiently.

"I don't think so," said Kiryu. "Jack, I don't know how to say this, but... I'm the one who hired that man who shot you."

Jack fixed him with a look, obviously not believing what he was hearing.

"Should I assume you had a reason for that?"

"He found out the identity of the old king's son," said Yusei. "He was trying to keep you away from here long enough for the true heir to be installed."

"If I had known you were going to get hurt..." Kiryu began.

Jack waved him away. He was staring at Yusei.

"They found the king's son?"

"Yes."

"Then who is he?"

"Me," said Yusei.

"_What?!_"

"Keep it down!" said Crow. "Someone will hear you."

"I don't care," said Jack. He turned back to Yusei. "How in the world can you be..."

There was a rattle at the door. Everyone turned to stare at it warily.

"It is your advisor," Misty murmured. "Should we admit him?"

"Everyone get out of sight first," said Jack, moving back to his hiding place. "Yusei, let him in."

Yusei nodded and went to open the door. Rex Goodwin stood there, holding a sheaf of papers and looking irritated.

"Oh, it's you. Still sulking?" he asked. "Never mind. I'm looking for my brother. Have you seen him?"

"He's not here," said Yusei.

"So it would seem," Rex replied, gliding into the room. "Never mind. I meant to speak to you anyway. I take it you are still determined not to assume the throne?"

"I take it you're still determined to convince me," Yusei retorted.

"It's for the good of the kingdom," said Rex, "as I've explained to you before. Of course, if you really are determined not to do it, I'm sure I can arrange some manner of alternative."

"You didn't mention an alternative the last time we spoke," said Yusei suspiciously.

"There are always alternatives, Yusei. They may not be good alternatives, or easy, but they are always there," Rex replied. "Truth be told, I have been giving the matter some thought, and I have begun to think that you may be correct in believing that you truly aren't fit to be king. I care what becomes of this kingdom, and I will not put anyone on the throne who will not do what is best for it. If I was sure I could guide you effectively, that would be one thing, but I have begun to have sincere doubts that you could be effectively controlled."

"I could have told you that," said Yusei.

"And I should have listened," said Rex. For a moment, he sounded almost sad, and Yusei wondered for a split-second whether or not the man might actually be having misgivings about his scheme.

Then Rex's face suddenly twisted with a look of sheer malice, and he dropped his papers and lunged at Yusei, gripping his shoulders and shoving him against the wall. Yusei found himself looking directly into the other man's frosty eyes.

"What have you done to my brother?" he snarled.

"I... what?"

"Don't play innocent with me, boy. I heard his distress signal. I know he was here. _Tell me what you did._"

A distress signal. That, Yusei realized, must have been the spell Rudger had thrown - the one they had all thought hadn't done anything. In retrospect, it seemed obvious that he must have had some way of keeping in touch with his brother in times of emergency.

"I didn't do anything to him," said Yusei, with complete honesty.

"Then you know who did," said Rex. "Don't lie to me. If you don't tell me what happened to him, I will..."

Yusei felt the man's grip crushing his shoulders with a strength that seemed impossible for such slender hands, and he felt a tremor of unease. How could a man who had never trained in his life have such strength... unless....

In a flash, Yusei snatched his knife from his belt and jabbed it at Rex, attempting to drive him back a little. Instead, there was a spray of sparks, and Yusei felt something like a jolt of electricity run up his arm, numbing it. He gasped, dropping his knife to clutch at his aching hand. Rex shook his head and laughed.

"You fool," he said. "My brother is the most powerful wizard in this kingdom. Do you think he would leave me unguarded? Your weapons can't hurt me - I am warded against iron, steel, copper, bronze, even wood." Before Yusei could stop him, he'd stooped down to snatch up the dagger Yusei had dropped. "A shame we can't say the same about you."

"I have news for you," said Jack, stepping into view. "Your brother thought the same thing, and it didn't save him."

Rex stared, his mouth open in an uncustomary expression of surprise. For once in his life, it seemed, he had run up against something he was completely unprepared to deal with.

"You were dead," he said. "Why aren't you dead?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" said Jack. The last thing he planned to do was to tell Rex that he had survived by the skin of his teeth, with some help from a bookbinder and some pseudo-divine intervention. Better by far to let Rex jump to his own conclusions. While Jack spoke, his friends were moving slowly towards him to perform a protective arc around him: Kiryu, slim and silvery and deadly as the edge of a knife; Crow, quick and unpredictable as a flash of lightning; Ushio with his broad shoulders and powerful arms, looking ready to crush whatever was in his way; and at their center, Jack, tall and proud and looking every inch a king. He fixed his violet eyes on Rex.

"Arrows couldn't kill me," he said. "Poison couldn't kill me. Rudger with his sword and his magic and his monsters couldn't kill me. But if you think you can take me with your bare hands, then go ahead. Amuse me."

"With my bare hands," said Rex. He laughed softly, as though Jack had just told him a joke, one he'd heard before but found amusing nonetheless. He pushed Yusei aside, making him topple to the floor. "Let us be reasonable, my king. For all your show of force, you still cannot get past my wards. You cannot hurt me, and I, as you so accurately point out, am unarmed, and therefore unable to hurt you. I suggest we settle this matter like civilized people."

"If you wanted to be civilized, you shouldn't have tried to kill him in the first place," Crow said.

Rex smiled unpleasantly. "Who says I did? How will you prove it? Have you evidence? Witnesses? Anything at all?"

"They have me," said Misty. "Divining is one of my talents. If you do not tell the truth, I will be able to prove it."

"Is that so?" he murmured, raising an eyebrow. "Well, let me see... yes, that does present a difficulty." He smiled benignly. "I congratulate you, your majesty. You are considerably more resilient and resourceful than I had given you credit for. You are lucky in your friends. Given the circumstances, I suppose I must give in to your request."

Jack looked at him suspiciously. "So you're going to surrender?"

"Surrender?" Rex repeated, looking mildly surprised. He began tugging at his gloves, casually peeling them off. "Who said anything about surrendering? Not you. You are still king, Jack, despite what I might wish, and your word is law. And what you have asked me to do..." He threw his gloves aside and began rolling up his sleeves. "...is to kill you with my bare hands."

On his bare arm was a tattoo - not a spider this time, but a bird with outstretched wings and a sharp beak. Rex brushed his fingers against it, murmuring something, and the mark glowed in response.

"More monsters?" Crow scoffed. "We killed the last one, and it had poisonous fangs and everything. What's a bird going to do?"

"I'm not summoning a monster," said Rex. Reddish light was spreading slowly up his arm as he spoke. "My brother's great weakness was always that he preferred to hide in his ivory tower and send someone else to do all the hands-on work. I've always preferred a more... personal approach."

The mark on his arm pulsed like a heartbeat, pushing the red lights further with each beat. They had reached his face now, surrounding it with a hellish aura and cast strange shadows around his eyes... No, Jack realized suddenly, those weren't shadows. The whites of his pale eyes had become black as night.

"Oh, shit," said Crow, summing up everyone's thoughts nicely.

For a moment, everyone seemed transfixed, staring in silence as the change overtook him. Rex's hair escaped its ties, bristling into a crest of feathers, and a cruel beak extended from his face. His hands sprouted talons where his fingers had been. Wings sprang from his back, shredding his shirt. The soft leather of his boots was ripped apart as claws burst from his feet. Within seconds, the slim, well-groomed man had been reshaped into a bristling monster, a warped human form embellished with spiky black feathers and mad black eyes.

"Tell me," it said, still speaking in Rex's calm voice, "do you think I can kill you now?"

Yusei, who had regained his footing, bravely put himself between Jack and the monster.

"Don't do it," he said. "You have nothing to gain now. All you're doing is making this worse for yourself. Just give it up."

"Give up, you say," Rex repeated, advancing on Yusei. "Making things worse for myself, you say. In what way? The punishment for treason is death. If I surrender, you will kill me. If you have not killed my brother yet, you soon will. And in the end, everything I have tried to do has failed. This kingdom will still be mired in its pointless, useless traditions, wasting away under the rule of a boy whose only claim to the throne was that he was born to the right parents. Not even that! He doesn't even have the true blood of kings in him, and sooner or later he will drag the whole kingdom down into oblivion with him. Everything I have worked for, everything I have loved, you all have taken from me. All that is left for me is to take the rest of you down with me."

He sprung, and Yusei, still staring in shock, did not move in time. Just before the monster's claws would have struck him, there was a pale blur, and Yusei found himself thrown out of the way as Kiryu collided with him. The bird-creature's talons raked Kiryu's side, drawing blood, but he didn't seem to notice. He whipped his sword around with a movement that should have severed the creature's head. Instead, it struck an invisible barrier and rebounded, making Kiryu stagger. Undaunted, he steadied himself and tried again, jabbing for the creature's heart and again being deflected by the ward.

"Aki!" Jack barked. "Do something!"

"I - I can't!" she said, pale and wide-eyed. "I used up all my strength the first time..."

"She is drained," Misty added, her face worried. "If she uses much more power, she will harm herself."

"Then think of something else!" he snapped.

Ushio sheathed his sword.

"All right," he said. "If he wants to fight with his bare hands, let's see if he's warded against someone breaking his neck!"

He barged into the fray, and Jack and Crow, not knowing what else to do, followed after him.

They fought. The monster was inhumanly fast, and no matter what they did, their weapons merely bounced off of it, doing no more than stun the people who were using them. They had no such protection, however, and anyone who drew near risked a slash from its razor- sharp claws or a gouge from its beak. Its wings, too, were a force to be reckoned with, far longer than the reach of their weapons, and the monster used them as shields to batter anyone who tried to get too close. There didn't seem to be any way of penetrating its defenses, and even the five of them working together couldn't seem to faze it. Kiryu was already bleeding heavily from the wounds he'd taken in defending Yusei, and he could barely keep his feet. Ushio wasn't doing much better; he had tried tackling the beast from behind and gripping its throat in an effort to throttle it, but the bird's neck was more flexible than a human's, and Ushio had been cruelly pecked. One shoulder had been gouged so badly that his arm was rendered useless, but he was still grimly clinging to his sword with his remaining useable hand, attempting to defend the other members of his party. Yusei had taken a slash across one cheek from where he hadn't dodged a claw in time, but he was so far not seriously injured. Crow and Jack had fared the best, neither of them having taken any real damage yet, but it didn't matter because nothing they were doing was hurting the monster at all.

"This isn't good," said Yusei. "Nothing works."

"We're going to have to make a break for it," said Crow.

Jack shook his head. "He'll never let us all get away." He may not have known magic, but he knew that a spell of this nature would require power to maintain. A true transformation, into a bird or some other natural creature, might remain in place indefinitely, but something like this man-beast form couldn't exist without a continual infusion of magic. Once it wore off, Rex would be helpless. He would have to kill them before that happened. He would pursue them no matter where they went - and he had wings. They couldn't escape by running.

Or could they?

"Ushio," he said, "take Kiryu and the women and get out of here. It's Yusei and me he wants. The rest of you get to safety."

"We can't leave you," Crow insisted.

"If you two die, the whole kingdom falls apart," Kiryu added.

"I am still the king and you will do what I say!" said Jack.

"None of you are going anywhere!"

With a snarl, Rex flung his wings wide and whipped them around, battering soldiers right and left. Jack was thrown from his feet and sent careening against a wall, where he fell and lay dazed. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the others were in similar shape. Kiryu and Ushio were attempting to push themselves back up, but they had already lost more blood than was good for them, and they lacked the strength to stand. Crow had taken a blow to the head from the creature's wings, and was now lying unconscious. Yusei appeared to have had the wind knocked out of him, but he was making a game attempt to gather himself. Rex walked calmly over to him and stomped him hard with a taloned foot, and Yusei let out a gasp of pain. Rex stomped him again, and he lay still. Satisfied, Rex turned and began walking slowly and purposefully towards Jack.

"And so it ends," said Rex, almost sadly. "No one can say you didn't do your best. What a shame that you went through so much just to have it end here..."

"Jack!"

"Carly?" Jack said, turning towards her. He'd almost forgotten she was there. He felt a sudden wrench. She knew what Rex had done; she could stand witness to this murder. There was no way Rex would let her live, and even without his monstrous form, he would be more than a match for her. Soon there would be no one left to protect her.

"Jack, catch!"

She reached up and pulled the jeweled comb from her hair. She threw it, and it went spinning through the air to clatter to the floor a few inches from Jack.

"Use it!" she said.

_For what?_ Jack wondered. It was nothing, just a bit of silver jewelry...

Silver. Rex had said he was warded against steel, iron, copper, bronze, and wood, but he hadn't mentioned silver. Misty had said that mages warded themselves against most common metals, but who made weapons out of silver? It was soft and liable to bend and break.

But it was still harder than human flesh. It might work.

Rex brought down his foot, but Jack wasn't there anymore. He had rolled out of the way, snatching up the comb as he went. The move seemed to surprise Rex, and he took a moment to look around and see what was going on. In that moment of distraction, Jack gripped the comb firmly in his hand, tines outward, and jabbed it towards Rex's throat.

The result was explosive. There was a flash of dazzling pink light and a powerful smell of burnt feathers. Jack blinked frantically, trying to clear his vision. He heard a scuffling nearby, the sound of something rushing at him with a snarl of frustration and despair, and Jack instinctively swung his sword with all his strength...

It connected. He felt it pass through flesh and bone, and heard the choked sound of someone in agony, and a dull thud. When Jack's vision cleared, he saw Rex, his face white and glassy-eyed with pain, clutching at the stump where his left arm had been. His _real_ arm, Jack realized. The bird-creature was no longer in evidence, only a dazed-looking man who appeared to be in too much shock to do anything but stare at his severed arm. The comb, which Jack still held in his hand, appeared to have melted, its tines reduced to charred stubs. Jack raised his sword and leveled it at Rex's throat.

"Surrender," he said. "It's all over."

Rex nodded, very slightly, his expression resigned.

"Do what you have to do," he said.

"Very well," said Jack. "Misty, put him with his brother."

"As you wish," she replied.

She laid her hands on him, and he gasped softly as the mist rose up around him, and he dwindled to become no more than a tiny gray spider. It had seven legs. It sat resignedly as Misty scooped it up and dropped it into the bag with the other spider.

Carly, meanwhile, had flung herself at Jack.

"I thought you were going to die!" she wailed.

He put his arms around her and pulled her close. Who cared who was watching? She had just saved his life; she deserved some attention.

"You need to stop saving me," he said. "It's going to become a bad habit."

"How did you know that the comb would save him?" asked Misty, as she tucked the bag of spiders out of sight.

Carly shrugged. "Silver is immune to magic, isn't it? I wasn't sure it would help, but there wasn't time to think of anything else...."

"And here I thought you weren't mage-trained," said Misty. "Where did you learn that?

Carly gave her an irritated look. "I _read_."

"Could someone help me, please?" called Aki. "Some of your friends are injured."

"Is there anything you can do for them?" asked Mikage worriedly, hurrying to assist her.

"Some. My magic will return to me in an hour or two. Enough for healing, at any rate," said Aki. "In the meantime, if someone could bring me some things...?"

"Tell me what you need. I'll get it," Mikage promised.

Within moments, Aki had been supplied with hot water, bandages, a fine needle and spool of thread, and an assortment of herbs and powders, many of which had, on Misty's advice, been appropriated from Rudger's laboratory. Like any good healer, Aki had had the principles of medicine drilled into her before she'd been allowed to work any magic directly on a living thing, and she had learned her lessons dutifully. She quickly set about stitching and bandaging her patients. Misty and Carly assisted her however they could. Mikage had wanted to help as well, but Jack dispatched her to summon servants and spread the word that the king had returned. Once the word got out, things got a bit chaotic in there until Jack ordered everyone out who didn't absolutely need to be there.

By evening, things had finally settled into some degree of normalcy. Jack had set up something like a miniature throne room in the hall where they had done battle - someone had brought him a chair to sit in, and he had finally been able to change out of the old things he was wearing into some more regal garments. His royal crown once again adorned his head. His friends were not forgotten, either: some cots and blankets had been fetched to make the injured parties more comfortable, and as Aki's powers trickled back to her, she was able to speed their healing along. All of them recovering nicely, showing only a few rapidly fading scabs where their injuries had once been. Servants had brought bowls of broth for them to drink, and they were quietly sipping these as they recovered their strength and watched the comings and goings. Jack spent a lot of time, in between dealing with other business, talking to Yusei and Kiryu about what had been happening in his absence. Yusei, normally so quiet, was a veritable font of chatter next to Kiryu, who spent most of that interval staring silently down at his hands.

People had begun arriving. Most of them were important people, members of the high court. They sat in chairs along the wall, avidly watching the king or staring with curiosity at the group who had been his companions. Word had gotten around: the parties responsible for the attempted murder of the king had been found. Soon, he would pass judgement on them.

At last, Jack raised his hands, and the hall became still.

"Court will now begin," he said. "In this room are gathered the men who plotted against me: my advisor, Rex Goodwin; my wizad, Rudger Goodwin; and one of my elite guard, Kiryu."

A murmur went through the crowd. Jack silenced them with a glare.

"Of these three, only the first two are guilty of plotting to kill me," he said. "I have witnesses to this fact. They attempted to murder my friends and me in this very room. They have already been punished accordingly. Misty, bring them."

Misty stepped forward and drew a circle on the floor with her finger. It left a glowing blue-green mark on the stone. She opened the drawstring bag and tipped out a pair of slightly baffled-looking spiders, one with only seven legs, who scampered about in a vain attempt to escape the circle of blue light.

"Rex and Rudger Goodwin," said Jack, "you are hereby found guilty of attempted murder and high treason. Your punishment will be to remain in the forms you are in now for the remainder of your natural lives. Misty has tells that, as you are both adult spiders, you will last another few months, unless someone steps on you. You can use this time to reflect on your mistakes. Can anyone say that this punishment is unfair?"

No one spoke. Jack waited a moment longer, and then nodded towards Misty.

"Dispose of them," he said.

Misty bowed slightly to him. Giving the spiders a contemptuous look, she scooped them both into her cupped hands and carried them out into the hallway. When she reached a window, she pitched them outside and let them tumble into the dark outside world.

"And now..." said Jack softly. He turned to Kiryu. "Is it true that you plotted to have me kidnapped?"

"It is true," he admitted.

"And is it also true that this was done as part of a plot to remove me from the throne?"

Once again, Kiryu nodded. "Yes."

"Have you anything to say in your defense?"

"No," he said. "I know I was wrong. I take all responsibility for my actions."

Jack was silent for a moment.

"This is my decision," he said at last. "First, you will give us a thorough description of the man you hired. He will be found and put to death. As for you, because of what you have done in our defense, your life will be spared. You will be stripped of your place in the elite guard. Moreover, you are hereby banished from this city for the next three years. I will send you to a post on the borders of the kingdom, where you will be entrusted with watching for signs of upheaval. If, after three years, you have performed your duty faithfully, you may be permitted to return to your post."

Kiryu bowed his head, his eyes damp with mingled relief, gratitude, and shame. "Thank you."

"If there are no objections?" said Jack, turning to the assembled company.

There was a soft murmur. Jack raised his hands.

"Then I declare this court assembly over," he said.

"But what about...?" Yusei began.

"Later," he said.

The dazed court filed out of the room, chattering with each other as they tried to take in this strange turn of events. Kiryu excused himself and drifted back to his barracks, saying he needed time alone to think. Yusei likewise excused himself and departed. Mikage led Ushio off, saying they had things to talk about, and he readily agreed. Aki said that she was exhausted from all the healing she had been doing, and Crow agreed to escort her and Misty to guest rooms where they could rest and recover. Jack found himself alone with Carly. He sighed and took off his crown, dropping it on the seat of his empty chair.

"Aren't you worried that someone is going to take it?" she asked him.

"At this point, I don't care," said Jack tiredly. He looked at her. "Do you want to take a walk? "

She nodded. He started toward the door, and she followed closely behind him. Without speaking, he led her up to the walkway that ran along the castle walls. It was night now, and stars flickered softly over the city. About halfway down the wall, Jack paused to lean on the parapet, and Carly stood next to him. They looked in silence out over the city.

"What are you thinking?" she asked at last.

"Have you ever wanted something and gotten it, and then wished you hadn't?"

"Sometimes," she admitted. "Is this about Yusei?"

Jack sighed. "All this time, I've been living a lie. I was never really the king. I was just Rex and Rudger's puppet all along. It was Yusei who should have been king."

"You were a good king," said Carly, setting a hand on his arm. "It doesn't matter whether Yusei should have done it. You were the one who did it. You should be proud."

"You realize what this means, don't you?" he said. "I can step down. I can finally _stop_ having everyone choose my path for me. I won't have to worry about politics anymore, or ask myself whether whatever I'm doing is for the good of the kingdom. I'm finally free...."

"What will you do?" asked Carly.

"I don't know. I could leave - become a soldier or a guard somewhere. I could get a job somewhere and make my own place in life. Yusei would give me land, if I asked for it - I may not be royal, but I'm from a noble family, and I'm entitled to lands of my own. I finally have the freedom to choose."

"But?"

He looked at her and gave her a fleeting smile, as if to say, _I'm glad at least someone understands._

"Yusei doesn't want to be king," he said. "And he really hasn't got the training. He wouldn't be a good king. And you're right - I _am_ a good king."

"What do you want to do?" she asked him.

"I want my freedom. I also want what's best for the kingdom," he said. "I think I also want you."

She blushed. "Jack...."

"I can't have everything I want," he said. "I know that. And I don't have much time to decide."

"I know you'll make the best choice," she said. "I believe in you."

"I know you do," said Jack.

"I just wish we had more time..."

Jack turned to look at Carly. "You think I should be king, then."

Carly didn't reply, but the look on her face said it all. Jack stared out at the sky for a long time, thinking. At last, he straightened up.

"Right, then," he said. "I think I know what I'm going to do."

"You do?"

"Yes," he said. "I'm going to have a long talk with Yusei. I'm going to do what's right for him... and for Aki and Misty and Mikage and Ushio. And for you too, I think. Even Rex might approve, if he knew. And what's right for me, too."

"What are you going to do?" Carly asked.

"Just wait and see," he said.

* * *

Somewhere on the edges of the city, two spiders crept slowly over the ground. One of them was limping, as much as spiders could limp, still aching where what had once been its arm had been severed.

_It would have been more honorable,_ Rex thought, _if he had killed me outright. Bad enough to be defeated by a lady's hairpin...._

"This is all your fault," he said. "You should have seen this coming."

"You started it all in the first place," Rudger retorted.

"Can't you do anything to change us back?"

"Not in this shape. I need to be able to speak human words, and I'd need the use of my fingers. Spider legs aren't going to cut it. Our only chance is if we can find a magic-user who recognizes us for human and is willing to change us back."

"Can you find someone like that?"

Rudger stopped crawling, and Rex stood still, waiting to hear the verdict.

"I feel a faint magical aura. It might be a magic-user, but it's hard to tell," said Rudger at last. He gestured with a foreleg. "That way."

If Rex had been in possession of proper lungs, he would have sighed. Instead, he gave a small spidery equivalent of a shrug and began trundling off in the direction his brother had indicated. After all, what did he have to lose?

They found out a short while later, when they found themselves facing a large green and black lizard. It looked thoughtfully down at them, and Rex had just enough time to think how strange its eyes were, not like a lizard at all. In fact, he thought, they looked almost human, and he wondered why that was.

Then its tongue shot out.

* * *

It had been a productive morning. Jack had spent most of it sequestered in a meeting room with several of the most trusted members of his court, including Yusei and his new advisor - about eight people, all told. They had been working most of the morning, going over a number of new laws to tie them down in solid legal language that wouldn't be overturned anytime soon. The difficult part had been to convince some of the older and more conservative attendees that they were a good idea in the first place, but Jack had insisted, and Yusei had backed him up. So had Misty, who Jack was already convinced was going to be a far more satisfactory advisor than Rex had been. She had made up her mind to keep corruption out of his kingdom, and come hell or high water, she was going to do it.

"Does anyone else have anything to add?" Jack asked.

There were murmurs from the assembled company. Jack nodded.

"Then we're done here."

He pressed his royal seal into a blot of wax on the bottom of the page, marking it as an official and lawful document, and rolled it up into a scroll.

"Shall I deliver that to the library for you?" asked Misty with a knowing smile.

Jack gave her a look to let her know that he didn't appreciate her jokes, but said only, "I'll take care of it myself."

"As you wish," she said. She rose and bowed politely. "And now, if we are done, I must go see how my new apprentice is doing."

She began to walk towards the door. Jack and Yusei fell into step beside her.

"How is Aki settling in?" Yusei inquired.

"She is adjusting," said Misty. "It is a great thing, to suddenly be surrounded by so many people and have so many responsibilities. I told her court wizards are expected to be solitary."

"Do you think the responsibility will be too much for her?" asked Jack.

Misty shook her head. "It's what she needs. It keeps her too busy to worry, or to miss what she has left behind. She still has much to learn, but all she needs is time."

"That is good," said Jack, and Yusei nodded.

Even as they spoke, Aki came dashing up to them, carrying something that she held carefully cupped in her hands. Gone was her red dress that had marked her as an earthly goddess. Instead, she was dressed in work clothes, tough dun-colored fabric that would stand up to hard wear, topped with an even tougher apron of leather. Moreover, Misty had bullied someone into giving her a pair of loose trousers, arguing that a serious magic user would have to do a certain amount of crawling about on the floor to chalk up circles of enchantment, and it would be far more seemly and comfortable if she was wearing something that wouldn't become twisted or hitched up whenever she moved. She had a smudge of charcoal across her cheek, and her hands were covered in chalk dust, but her eyes gleamed with pride.

"Look! I finally did it!" she said, holding out the object in her hands for Misty's inspection. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a rose made of clear glass, each petal separate and distinct. They made a gentle clinking sound as they shifted against each other.

"Beautiful work," said Misty, smiling. "I knew you would get it eventually. Now, let me show you how to change it back...." She turned to her companions. "Would either of you care to observe?"

"Another time," said Yusei. "I promised I would see Kiryu off."

"So he's finally leaving today? You have been lenient with him," said Misty to Jack.

"He is still my friend," said Jack.

Misty nodded. "Understood."

"Are you going to say goodbye, then?" Yusei asked.

"No," Jack said. "It would be better if I didn't."

"You're probably right about that," Yusei agreed.

They parted company with Misty and Aki, and together they walked in silence for a while.

"You're sure you're all right with this?" asked Jack at last.

Yusei gave him a sidelong look. "With what?"

"Everything," said Jack. "With Kiryu. With you."

"I'm sorry Kiryu is leaving," said Yusei, "but I'm all right with it. I hope he'll be happy, where he's going."

"And what about you? Are you sorry to give up being king?"

"_Definitely_ not," said Yusei. "I'm more than happy to sign everything over to you. You know what you're doing. I'm content to be a soldier." A faint smile flickered across his face. "The only thing I aspire to is to beat you in swordfighting. And I'll do it, too."

"Keep dreaming," Jack told him. After a pause, he added, "Tell Kiryu I'll see him when he gets back."

"I'll do that," Yusei promised.

As he left, Jack found himself wishing to go with Yusei and say goodbye to his old friend in person. But what did you say at a parting like that? No, he would wait. Kiryu would come back, someday, and then Jack would be the first to welcome him home. And of course, Kiryu would be sending regular reports back with regards to his progress. They would be in touch, at a safe distance, while the emotional scars between them had healed.

In the meantime, he still had a few more errands to run. The scroll he carried had to be delivered to its proper place in the library, amid all the other legal papers, filed and recorded so that it could never be forgotten or contested. He did not intend to leave that job to any lesser person - not when he had fought so hard to get it into writing in the first place. He strode briskly towards the library, hardly paying attention to where he was going.

He rounded a corner and collided with something solid. It grunted. Jack backed up until his eyes could focus properly on the man standing in front of him.

"Sorry about that, your majesty!" That was Ushio, eager to be obliging. And why shouldn't he be? Jack had kept his promise and bestowed upon him the lands that had once belonged to the two traitorous brothers, and he'd been doing well with his new responsibilities, no doubt helped along substantially by his bride-to-be. His new people, eager to distance themselves from their previous masters, had been supportive of him. He even looked the part of a ruler, now. Where he'd once worn a soldier's rough clothing and leather armor, he was now dressed finely in raiment that would not have discredited a prince, red and black and white and gold. More importantly, he had Mikage walking along beside him, her hand resting lightly on his arm. She looked rather amused by the collision and her husband-to-be's frantic efforts to apologize.

"I was looking for you two anyway," said Jack. "Mikage, I have word from your father."

"Oh!" she said, and blushed faintly. For the last few days, while Jack had been working busily to untangle the mess that his treasonous cohorts had left for him (not the least of which was trying to calm down a few hundred angry worshipers who didn't understand where their Goddess and her chief priest had disappeared to), Mikage had been planning her wedding. It might have been more charitable to say that she and Ushio were planning it together, but from what little Jack had seen of these planning sessions, they consisted mainly of Mikage deciding what she wanted, and Ushio smiling dreamily and saying "yes" to everything she proposed. Which was fine - Jack had promised to pay for everything, since his castle had already been in readiness for a wedding anyway, so why shouldn't they be extravagant?

But the arrangement with Mikage's father had been that she would marry the king, and there was always the chance that he would be insulted by the change in plans. Jack had sent him the most gracefully-worded letter he could manage, explaining that in the wake of the attempted regicide and its tumultuous after-effects, he was no longer able to commit to a wedding so soon, and that he had arranged for Mikage to marry a man of her own choosing and would be happy to bestow upon them everything they needed to share a prosperous life together. It was a generous offer, Jack knew, but when someone was actively looking for a reason to be offended, even the most generous offers could be construed as insults.

Mikage and Ushio knew it, too. They exchanged faintly uneasy glances.

"What did he say?" Mikage asked.

"I'll let you read it for yourself," said Jack, fishing a piece of parchment out from under his sash. "Reading between the lines, I get the feeling that he never wanted you to marry someone from outside your land to begin with, and never would have agreed to it at all if I weren't the king. He seems to be relieved that you've decided to settle down with someone he knows and trusts. He sends his blessings."

The two of them breathed identical sighs of relief. Jack handed Mikage the letter.

"I suppose we had better hurry and finish with our plans, then," she said. "I wouldn't want to disappoint my family."

"Right you are, Mikage," said Ushio.

Jack had a feeling she was going to be hearing a lot of that in the future. Judging by her expression, he also had a feeling that she wasn't really going to mind.

He left them deep in a discussion of what sort of refreshments to serve at the reception, and continued his journey to the library. When at last he arrived, he found the place in a state of confusion. Books had been stacked everywhere, on tables and chairs and even on the floor. Carly was in the middle of it all, surrounded by sheets of paper and the sticks of graphite she had insisted on having in place of ink, which she refused to allow in her new domain, for fear that someone might spill it on her precious books. She was scribbling furiously.

"Carly," said Jack, "what have you done to my library?"

"I'm getting it organized," she said. "How did you people ever _find_ anything in here?"

"We looked for it."

"Well, I'm getting it all sorted by subject and author. Except for the legal papers, they'll be organized by date. Oops!" Carly had turned to reach for one of her lists, and her elbow had bumped into a heap of precariously piled books, sending it toppling to the floor. "It's okay! I was going to resort those anyway."

Jack shook his head. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you."

She looked up at him, pushing her glasses back up her nose. "Want to help?"

"Maybe later," he said. He handed her the scroll he'd been carrying. "Here. I need you to file this, too."

"You make a guy king and suddenly he starts thinking he can give orders to everybody," said Carly, but she accepted the scroll and studied it curiously. "So, is this what you all have been working on for so many days?"

"It took that long to get everyone to agree on it," said Jack. "Not everyone liked my idea, but I think I convinced them that it was for the best."

"It must have been some law," said Carly. She began unrolling the scroll and squinting down at the rows of closely-written lines of legal talk.

"It is quite a law," he said. "It says that from now on, the succession of royalty will not be determined by blood. The throne will go to the one who proves himself most worthy of it. Or herself."

"It took all this to say that?"

"There are a lot of clarifications about how to determine who's worthy and things like that, but yes. It did take all that space to say that."

"Wow." She looked at the scroll with new respect. "Being a king really _is_ hard work."

"There's also one other proviso in it," said Jack. He shifted his weight, suddenly avoiding looking directly at her.

She fixed him a look over the rims of her glasses. "What kind?"

"To smooth the whole thing over," he said, "I agreed to make a gesture of good faith."

"What kind of gesture?" she asked suspiciously.

"I said I would forego marrying a noblewoman," he said, "and choose a common woman for my queen."

"You... will?"

"Not just anyone," he said. "It will have to be someone who's up to the job. Someone with some education, naturally. Someone with courage and determination and loyalty. It would have to be a very special woman."

"Jack..."

"I told you I would arrange things," he said. "So. Will you?"

In response, she jumped to her feet and began dashing towards him. She immediately stumbled over a pile of books and toppled over, forcing him to catch her. Her glasses fell off and hit the floor with a clatter. Jack steadied her and set her back on her feet.

"I'll get that," he said, and bent to pick up her fallen glasses.

But before he could get that far, Carly had pulled him close and kissed him soundly. He decided that her glasses couldn't be as important as all that, after all. After a moment or two, he'd forgotten about them entirely. It was a long time before she finally let him go again. He stood silently a while longer, looking down into her eyes.

"So you'd like to be queen?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I told you, I'm going to be a _librarian_."

He smiled slightly. "I'm sure that can be arranged."

"Good," she said. She rested her head against his chest. "I accept."

Jack put his arms around her, and for once in his life, allowed himself a moment of peace. His kingdom was and secure, perhaps better than it had ever been. His friends were safe and happy. Now he was actually beginning to look forward to being married.

It was all exactly as he would have chosen.

**THE END**


End file.
